Eagle One: Tears of Blood
by EnduranceInTribulation
Summary: In the world of the ANBU, emotions are discarded, you become a silent weapon, your loyalty being to your team. A story following an ANBU team as they develop. Lee centric may shift around later, LeeSaku NaruHina NejiTen ShikaTem
1. Introduction: Reville

Eagle One

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Notes: Sorry to start out with notes by the way, this is a story that has been bouncing around the back of my head for quite  
some time now, it completely ruined the furniture. Anyway, it's kinda serious and I'm not sure if people will like it but  
give it a try and review it and tell me what you think. Its supposed to bring across the idea of a team more heavily and  
kinda add a slightly military feel to it since I've always seen the ANBU as a sort of para-military group.  
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Introduction: Reville

"In the **An**satsu Senjutsu Tokushu **Bu**tai, or the ANBU, you have no feelings, no emotions, you are not a human, you are not yourself.  
You are a weapon, to kill and save, to attack and to defend. You must never think of anything but the mission, and your team. You  
in yourself are nothing, the team, everything, the mission foremost beyond even that. You are highly specialized, infinitely trained and  
intricately bonded with your fellow team members, and you must be capable of doing things deemed impossible by lesser men. If you  
fail, it is not only you who will suffer the consequences. Look around, look at this large beautiful village we know as Konohagakure,  
the Hidden Village of the Leaves, look at every last man, woman and child, memorize them, love them, because these are the people  
for whom you will fight. These are the people whom you will defend within inches of your own life, these are the people whom you  
will fight for without restraint, without thought, this entire village is depending on you to accomplish your mission. Look at the children,  
they will grow without knowing tear, or war, or famine, and you will be the cause. Look at the women, they will live in leisure, with  
happy children, and in joy, and you will be the cause. Look at the men, wasting away thier lives in meaningless escapades, they will  
fulfill thier dreams, live to become successful, raise the next generation, and you will be the cause. But if you fail, children will be torn  
from thier mother's arms, women, raped in the streets, foolish men, living only for themselves, slain in the street like dogs. But you will  
prevent that, in the glorious tradition of the ANBU, you will prevent that, with all of the strength in your weak and useless forms, you  
will prevent it, without cease, without rest, and without fear. Remember this my ANBU, other teams have the luxury of botching an  
important mission, all that Konoha loses is monetary, pittance for each, but you, if you fail, it is one more child who must live without  
knowing his parents, one more woman who is made a widow, one more man who is slain. If you fail a mission, you fail Konoha, you  
fail your home, you fail everyone you hold dear. So I tell you now ANBU, you will be the tip of the spear, the most vigilant, the most  
powerful, the most dedicated, not because you choose to, though that may be the case, but simply because it is your duty. Your duty  
to your countrymen, your duty to your Hokage, your duty to your home. For four generations, our ANBU have fallen on the field of  
battle, valiently, defending all we hold dear, the promise made and sealed in the blood of the valient, you who step up now, to claim  
this bold heritage of heroes, will be remembered forever as heroes, and as we die in battle, may we die with our ideals correct. Your  
team, your mission, then yourself. Die with these words on your lips my ANBU, die with pride knowing that you, unlike so many, and  
like too few, have chosen to honor your home with the blood of a hero, for the mighty tree of Konoha may be large as the Earth itself,  
but it will still need to be sustained through the blood, sweat, and tears of the brave. I am honored to serve alongside you, I know you  
will live up marvelously to the ancient promise with your forebears, the promise made and sealed in blood. Thank you my soldiers, thank  
you in advance from every man, woman, and child within these walls, thank you for being the best, and thank you for chosing to use your  
abilities to not further your own selfish goals and intents, but to save and love, to help and assist, you are the best Konoha has. I honor each  
and every one of you. I now stand here and look down at you all, some faces new, some old, but know this, as long as there is a single drop  
of brave blood in Konoha, the ANBU will exist, in essence, the ANBU is the combined fighting spirit of Konoha, the soul of the greatest  
of ninja villages rests with you, do not disappoint it, and it will not disappoint you."

-Tokubetsu Jounin, Morino Ibiki, ANBU Elite Interrogation Taskforce  
Graduation Speech at ANBU Squad Fifteen's graduation

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Notes: Please Review, even flames are accepted as long as they point out something I have done wrong in my story that can be fixed.


	2. Chapter One: The Blood of Heroes

Eagle One

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Chapter One: The Blood of Heroes

(Told you it was really serious )  
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Naruto, seriously, if I did, I'd probably be too busy screaming in joy to write anything.  
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Eagle One POV:  
"Sir!" Eagle Seven A screamed, "There's too many! What can we do sir?"  
"DO?" I screamed back, "You can DO your duty!" I struck out at a ninja that got too close, killing him instantly. "Where is Squad  
Fourteen?" They should have been here by now, our flank was folding far too quickly. If we didn't get relieved soon our entire flank would  
fold, causing the rescue party to be surrounded. We were thier last hope. And for her, I was willing to sacrifice myself.

"Squad Fourteen on the radio for you sir!" Eagle Four called.

I cursed and jumped to the radio, stuffing the earpiece quickly into my ear, "Damn it, Dog One! Where is your unit?" I saw Eagle  
Two fall, several kunai piercing her body as she threw her kunai at the enemy with deadly aim. Bitter tears stung my eye as I remembered  
her, but I quickly quelched my emotions. ANBU had no feeling, once you don the mask, you are nothing but a weapon, to be pointed at the  
enemy to destroy or toward allies to save. "Our flank is folding!"

Dog One blinked in suprise, he had never heard Eagle One cuss before, "Squad Eagle, our squad was hit heavily, only me and Dog  
Five are still alive, his kikai bugs scouted ahead and found several more sound-nins approaching from north-north-west, we are tactically  
withdrawing," he hated to put his old friend in such a precarious and dangerous position but he had to pull his squad out while he still could,  
"Sorry to do this to you..." he whispered.

I froze at his words, he sounded so sad, nothing like the impassive member of my genin team. I once again squelched the memories,  
duty taking over, "Dog One, this is Eagle, tactical withdrawal understood, we will continue to hold, ask High Command to send us more men  
as soon as you get back," I heard him agree and leapt back up, dodging a badly thrown shuriken. "Wait! Belay that last request, move to our  
pre-arranged fallback location, wait for my wounded and I will report with the rest of my squad after we help the rescue team,"

Eagle Four turned to me, apparently having heard the conversation from her vantage, "Sir! Are we going to be able to hold?" and in  
a voice even she can barely hear whispered, "And is N.. Dog One going to be okay?"

"We must.. Dog One can take care of himself..." I replied, throwing a hail of kunai at a shadow. "The rescue team is depending on  
us," I pat her on the shoulder, no more emotion afforded during a mission. Eagle Six falls, the senbon he always carried in his mouth hitting  
the ground with a clatter. I run and strike the ninja who injured him and I see several shuriken flying in my direction, I jump away, the shuriken  
hitting my opponent. I turn, the enemy ninja realizing that he had hit one of his own. He prepares another shuriken, backing away, when Eagle  
Seven hits him from behind, claws flashing in the air. I nod to him, and jump onto a tree, looking around for any more enemies. "Eagle Seven!"

"Sir!"

"Can you smell any more enemy ninja?"

"Sir no sir!"

"Okay, Eagle squad, sound off,"

"Eagle Two here sir, slightly wounded,"

"Eagle Three, not a scratch," He winced at that, of course she wasn't from Konoha so she could refuse to accept his authority, but  
the squad's discipline might suffer if she continued to blatantly disregard his authority. He knew other captains would command her to say  
it again, this time with the honorific 'sir' but he just didn't have the time, nor did he really care enough. They could refuse to respect him,  
since, in essence it was his fault for not inspiring thier respect.

"Eagle Four sir, okay,"

"Eagle Five, sir, okay, chakra at twenty eight percent,"

"Eagle Six here sir, wounded,"

"Eagle Seven A sir, perfectly okay, Eagle Seven B is injured sir,"

I look around, Eagle Two lied to me... she was wounded fairly badly, and there were many other injuries among the others that were  
quite substantial. I, Eagle Three, Eagle Four, and Eagle Seven A seem to be the only ones who went through the battle completely unscathed.  
Only a little longer now... they must still be trying to convince him to return. "Eagle Two, Five, Six, and Seven, move to fallback point Alpha,  
Eagle Two will have tactical control, heal up and wait for more wounded," I said pointing to each in turn. "Eagle Three and Four," I said, turning  
to them, "This part of the mission is going to become considerably more dangerous, I will not force you to participate in this part of the mission,  
but I will ask you to please consider it,"

Eagle Three's eyes squinted amusedly, the mask feeling uncomfortable, "Right behind you Eagle One," she said, hefting the large fan  
and placing it on her shoulder, "If I quit now I guess Shika would be pissed at me,"

Eagle Four looked down, bringing her fingers together timidly, "I.. I accept Eagle One, sir," her white eyes resolute, "Lead on sir,"

I smiled at both of them, they couldn't see it because of my mask of course, but I was smiling nonetheless. "Let us go then," I jumped  
into the canopy of a tree, fastening several traps, Eagles Three and Four doing likewise in different directions. I smiled, it was going to get very  
interesting. "Form up!" I commanded, taking the head of the arrowhead formation, after we were all in position I lead the way down into the cave,  
we would get them out.

Sakura POV:  
He was still staring at us, I have no idea what he could possibly be thinking, "Please?" I said softly, "Please come back to Konoha with  
us Sasuke-kun..." It had been so long since he left us but maybe he would reconsider now... maybe he would come back to us.

He laughed, it was chilling and evil, "No.." he said, "No I don't think I will be doing that,"

Naruto leaped forward, "Damn it Sasuke! If you don't come by your own free will, I'll force you to come back damn it!"

Sasuke looked down, amused, "Oh? And what are you going to use to make that happen? The power of friendship?"

"No!" Naruto yelled, his face red with anger, "With this!" he formed a Rasengan in his hand and threw it at Sasuke who just smirked and  
dodged it.

He gave an ironic grin and turned to me, "I'm so sorry Sakura, but it seems that I've slipped through your fingers yet again," He began to  
disappear like he had so many times before, "Maybe we should do it again sometime," he said. I felt my heart breaking as yet again he left. I had  
hoped that he would really accept this time, hoping against hope each time.

Naruto ran to Sasuke, trying to knock him out before he completely dissapated, he didn't make it in time. Sasuke was gone. "DAMN IT"  
he screamed. I walked over to him and patted him on the shoulder, he had taken Sasuke's betrayal personally and we both wanted him back so  
much...

Several sound jounins ran toward us, making handseals. Naruto and I jumped from the ground and braced ourselves for a fight. I drew  
chakra into my arm, preparing to release it when they got close. The sound-nins suddenly stopped and jerked around quickly, looking behind them.  
A black blur quickly jumped in thier midst, stabbing one in the heart with a kunai and kicking them back into the passage that they had come from.  
One was blown out of the passage by a burst of wind, bleeding heavily. The last one lunged at the shortest of the ANBU and recieved a quick tap  
on the side of the head and unconciousness for his troubles. Three Konoha ANBU ambled down the passage, each checking the connecting tunnels  
for any remaining enemies. I saw the one in the front of the formation break away, his uniform the outfit of a Konoha ANBU captain. "Your mission?"  
he asked quietly.

I knew immidately who it was by his voice, his height and the way he walked. "He didn't come back to us Lee-san," I said softly. My heart  
was breaking again. Sasuke had that effect on me. Lee stiffened. I saw his hands clench and felt sorry for him, I know he loves me, he's proven it  
time and again, but in truth, I don't think I could ever love him, like I said after I first met him, he's just too unique for me. A single tear fell from my  
eye, then two, then many.

Eagle One POV:  
As an ANBU on a mission, I have no emotions, or at least I'm not supposed to, I'm supposed to make a sharp distinction between what I feel  
and hold precious during my life and what I hold important during a mission. But this was Sakura. Sakura, my angel that I will always love, the one  
who I will always stand beside and have waited for, for so long. I saw her tears and that her heart was in pain and my heart went out to her. It was  
all I could do to keep myself from reaching out and hugging her, I took a deep breath, trying to keep my hands from shaking, and turned to my team.  
"We will escourt Naruto and Sakura to the fallback point, there we will meet up with the rest of Eagle and Dog and retreat to Konoha," I blinked  
quickly, trying to clear my eyes of the tears that welled up in them. We were on a mission, I was the squad leader, I could not show any emotion.

Eagle Four looked at me, her eyes sympathetic, "Sir, we can stay here for a short while, please take care of anything you feel is neccasary,"  
with that she walked outside again, a reluctant Eagle Three following her. It was a breach in procedure but I didn't care.

I sat down heavily, pulling my mask off my sweaty face, tears still swelling up in my eyes, I looked up at Sakura, "Sakura-chan... tell me what  
is wrong.. I wish to help,"

Mixed POV:  
Sakura looked into his eyes and saw his sincerity. She smiled through her tears a little and told him of how Sasuke refused yet again. He listened  
intently, looking away every time Sakura expressed how much she cared for Sasuke. She could tell that she had hurt him but didn't really know how to  
broach the subject. His eyes filled with tears as he heard Sakura begin to blame herself for Sasuke's betrayal, he quickly hugged her, apologising profusely,  
and looked her in the eyes, "It was never your fault Sakura-chan," he said seriously, "Never say that again,"

Eagle Three ran down the passage breathing heavily, "Ea..." she stopped when she saw Lee hugging Sakura, tears in his eyes, Lee quickly glanced  
at her, picking his mask up and with a deep breath repositioning it over his face. He gently pushed away from Sakura and faced her. "Eagle One, Eagle Four  
says that several enemy ninja are moving in this direction, we need to move out now,"

Eagle One nodded, "Okay," he turned to Sakura and Naruto, "We must leave now, follow us," he said quickly, his emotions continuing to circle in his  
mind, he tried to shut them off and failed, but he continued to run back up the passage. He knew Sakura and Naruto were following him and hurried slightly,  
they were moving too slowly. "Eagle Four," he yelled as he ran out of the cave, "What is the situation?"

Eagle Four looked up at him, her eyes troubled, "Two enemy patrols of ten ninja each advancing slowly on our position, sir,"

Eagle One nodded, "Okay," He looked around quickly, sizing up the situation, "Okay, we are going to move through the valley, getting Naruto and  
Sakura through is our highest priority. Our own safety is lesser priority, when we pass through the valley, I and Eagle Three will set up an ambush, Eagle  
Four will accompany and escourt Naruto and Sakura to the fallback point. Is that understood team?"

"Sure, whatever"

"Yes sir!"

Sakura felt slight anger at Temari for being so nonchalant to Lee, after all he was her squad leader, didn't she have any respect? "Temari!" she  
said, "What is your problem? Lee-san's your squad leader! Start acting like it!"

Eagle Three just blinked in astonishment and shrugged. "Whatever,"

They passed through the valley unopposed, Eagle One stopping his unit at the very end of the valley, "Eagle Four you have tactical control from here  
out, good luck, Naruto, Sakura, you will follow Eagle Four to the fallback position, you will then report to High Commander Nara and recieve a debriefing, in  
the unlike event that you are engaged by an enemy force, Eagle Four will stay behind and lure them away from you, she will then meet up with you again after  
she is finished with the enemies," he looked at each person, they all had thier jobs and knew what and how to do them, "Dismissed,"

Eagle Four, Naruto, and Sakura nodded, each jumping away. Eagle Three glanced at him, "So I guess we get to have the last stand?" she asked.

Eagle One smiled, "Looks that way," he pulled out two medium sized swords, one from a sheath on his back, and one from a sheath on his side and  
inspected them critically, they would have to be perfectly sharp. He pointed to the other side of the valley, "It is my turn to be the bait..." Eagle Three didn't  
comment, apparently it was always Eagle One's turn to be bait, she never remembered anyone else ever having been a decoy before, "Take cover on that side  
and wait until I am overrun by the enemy forces to come assist me, I am placing my life in your hands, come out with your own discretion, if it seems impossible  
then just leave and help Eagle Four reach the fallback point, don't waste your life trying to get to me, is that understood,"

Eagle Three nodded, new respect in her eyes, "If you're overrun and I act too slowly you'll die," she said slowly.

"Then I simply will have to hope you do not act too slowly will I not?"

Eagle Three understood why the rest of her team was so loyal to him now, he was always doing the most dangerous jobs himself, "Yes... sir..." she said,  
jumping to the other side of the valley. Eagle One smiled under his mask, she had finally accepted his authority.

Twenty minutes later, Eagle One saw the first advance scout of the enemy glancing into the valley, they were sloppy... good. He felt himself smiling under  
his mask, maybe he would live another day after all. The scout motioned to his leader and slowly fifteen ninja worked themselves down the middle of the valley, he  
assumed, and assumed correctly that the team leader had stacked his units into a fifteen-five configuration, fifteen walking down the center of the valley to quickly  
draw out any enemies and five waiting in one side of the valley, waiting to move into flanking position. It was a good strategy, but not exceptional, it left his units open  
if the attack that was presented was a decoy assault. He stood and jumped to the center of the valley his back turned to where he expected the flanking troops to be  
stationed, trying to lure them into attacking him. He struck what he hoped was a threatening pose, drawing both swords with an overly theatrical flourish, "Beware  
sound-nins!" he roared, "I am a powerful ninja who you must now fight! I will kill every last one of you!" He grimaced under his mask, it sounded so fake.

One of the sound-nins raised a shaking arm and pointed at Eagle One, "A Konoha ANBU captain?" he looked at the swords in his hands, their cutting edges  
were tinted green, and the red hitai-ate that he wore as a belt, his eyes widened, "The Deadly Green Beast of Konoha!" The rest of his squad looked frightened,  
they all began to back away, first a few, then many.

Eagle One was impressed that they knew him by title. He jumped into thier midst, running the leader of thier group through with his swords, effectively  
disorganizing the squads under his command. He backflipped over a kunai wielding ninja that was attacking him from behind and kicked him into the rest of his squad.  
He fell into his distinctive stance, one sword in front, tilted in a defensive posture and one sword behind him, pointing straight upward and guarding his back. Eagle  
Three was watching from the far side of the valley, she saw her eyes widen as she watched Eagle One's movements, she had never seen such speed. Three enemy  
ninjas were advancing on him and he saw two more approaching out of his periphiral vision. He crouched down and shot upward, two of the enemy following him. He  
turned his body so he would spin vertically and began to spin, "Konoha Daisenpu!" he hit both enemy-nins back down to the ground, killing them both quickly. He jerked  
to his left, barely avoiding a kunai and sweeped his leg under the thrower, "Konoha Reppu," his opponent lifted in the air and Eagle One stabbed him quickly with his  
forward sword. He blocked another kunai with his reverse, or back sword, and turned, he felt several shuriken pierce his leg and he rolled away, barely avoiding the  
shuriken aimed at his head. He struck at an enemy ninja but went straight through him, it was a Bushin, he rolled away again, cursing, frantically searching for some sign  
of which was the real sound-nin. He dodged several waves of sound and even a very nicely preformed lightning jutsu, sweat dripping down his face as he realized that  
they would hit him eventually simply because of the number of projectiles whistling past his head. He leaped at an enemy ninja, kicking him high into the air, he jumped  
upward and kicked him back to the ground, killing him. The lightning jutsu struck him on the back, the smell of burning and sizzling flesh filling the air. He jumped sideways,  
avoiding a second attack and stabbed the enemy ninja in the stomach, kicking him in the neck as he pulled his sword out. One enemy nin was forming handseals when he  
suddenly kicked his hand, shattering it, Eagle One rebounded off of a tree and flew into another enemy ninja, knocking the breath out of his lungs and breaking a few ribs.  
He pushed away from his enemy but the sound-nin was lucky and stabbed a kunai into his leg. He felt the muscle in his leg partially tear and backed away from the battle  
slightly, testing his leg to see if it could sustain his weight. He jumped to the side again as another wave of sound ripped by, his injured leg giving out the instant he landed  
on it. He cursed darkly and rolled under an enemy-nin's arm, slicing at him but missing substantially. Eagle One brought his swords close to himself and leapt, bringing his  
swords around in a spin. "Konoha Goriki Senpu!" he felt his swords tear into several enemy ninja and backflipped until his back was up against a tree, a more tactically  
advantageous position. Eagle One's eyes grew wider, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. More ninja were storming into the valley, maybe fifty all told, he couldn't  
believe it. Twenty he had some chance of defeating, but seventy? He clenched his fist, deciding immidiately. He had to stop that platoon, even at the cost of his own life.  
He saw Eagle Three begin to step from her position on the far side of the valley and he shook his head, condemning himself. Eagle Three stared at him unbelievingly, he  
had just refused her help, he was confident that he was going to die but was going to fight alone regardless. She felt a pang of loss for the squad leader and ran down the  
side of the valley, only hoping that Eagle Four was okay. Eagle One took off the arm gauntlets off of his forearms, revealing several old, tattered white bandages, he  
began to unravel them, and prepared. So it seemed that this would be his last mission after all. He smiled though, because Sakura was safe, and that was all that mattered  
to him.

Eagle Four quickly jumped down from the tree, her bloodlimit ability activated, sweeping her head to cover the one-degree blind spot. "We're only about a kilometer  
away now," she said softly, "W.. Wait, someone's coming, roughly at our one-seven-three," she quickly nudged Naruto and Sakura into a ditch, apologising profusely and  
turned to meet the threat. She sighed in relief when she saw it was Eagle Three. She looked for her squad leader and was confused when she saw that he wasn't there.  
"W.. Where's Eagle One?"

Eagle Three shook her head, "He was overrun, more ninja were pushing into the valley and I was moving from a flanking position to help him but he ordered me to  
return to you and complete our primary objective... he was a good squad leader," her hands shook slightly.

Sakura jumped up from the ditch, looking around frantically, "But Lee-san'll be okay right?"

Eagle Three and Four just continued to look down, Naruto stood and patted Sakura on the shoulder, "He'll survive... he's strong... and when we get back to the others  
we can get more people and bust in and kick thier ass!"

Eagle Four looked at him, her eyes slowly filling with tears, "No Naruto-kun..." she whispered, "We cannot go back for Eagle One... if he doesn't make it back himself  
we will be forced to leave him,"

Sakura jumped up, glaring at both of the silent ANBU, "What?" she yelled. "But we have to go back and help him then!" She began to run back but Eagle Three grabbed  
her by the back of her shirt.

Eagle Three looked up, anger in her eyes, "Eagle One knew what he was getting into, you can at least honor his sacrifice by getting to the damn rally point," she let go  
of Sakura's shirt, Sakura looking confused, "I'm not initially from the Leaf so I don't know what he felt about you, but I'm not stupid, I'm sure he did it for you," Sakura was  
still looking confused but Eagle Three didn't feel very compassionate, "Follow us, NOW," she commanded. Sakura nodded silently.

Eagle One stared at the enemy ANBU captain impassively, "I am very sorry, your offer is very tempting but I will have to decline," he felt his strength skyrocket as he opened  
the Initial Gate, the enemy ANBU captain backing up slightly. He smiled under his mask, if the enemy ANBU thought that that was frightening he was going to have a heart  
attack over what he was going to do next. He opened the next two gates, feeling the veins in his neck and forehead bulging, the world was slowing down considerably, the ANBU  
in front of him moving no more quickly than normal soldiers. He could feel the barrier between his thoughts and actions blur and jumped into action. He quickly kicked the first enemy soldier, propelling him into a tree and splintering it into several small pieces. The enemy ninjas quickly formed into a circle attempting to box him in, he rolled under the arms of one enemy ninja and cut through him with his sword, he leaped up and with a quick roundhouse kick, sent two smaller ninja flying into the rest of thier unit. Several waves of sound hit him, ripping through his ANBU armor and cutting his chest. He crouched low and jumped forward mightily, his legs sweeping under several enemies, knocking them down, he felt a kunai dig into his back and jumped sideways, the kunai being swung off balance and failing to penetrate. He dodged a lightning jutsu, ducked under a shuriken and leaped a rising wall of dirt caused by an earth jutsu. He leaped to the left, barely dodging several more jutsus and slid under several enemy ninja, bringing his sword over and under with him, cutting them, killing them instantly, he felt another wave of sound hit him squarely on the face, he backed up quickly, blinking to clear away the blood that was obstructing his vision. He felt a kunai pressed to his throat and quickly jerked backward, bowling over the ninja who had been holding it. He rolled back upright, panting, he was tiring quickly. The enemy ninjas were swarming at him now, pressing him with thier numbers. He struck out quickly killing any ninja that wandered within his reach. He cartwheeled sideways to avoid a kunai and jumped forward, his sword flashing in the air and cutting several enemy ninja. He felt himself be hit with several more jutsus and kunai, he was bleeding heavily now, he couldn't feel most of his body. He sunk to his knees, exhausted, and in pain, the enemy ninjas circled around him, crying out in triumph. He opened the Harm Gate, feeling the world slow down further and exploded upward, his foot grazing an enemy's arm and causing it to shatter. He was a blur of blows, he was moving so quickly that several lower ranking ninja quickly deserted, unable to even see his movements, Eagle One felt himself weaken considerably and decided that he had done all he reasonably could. He quickly drew his second sword and unwrapped his bandages to thier limit, he had wrapped a tiny amount around the hilts of his swords but beyond that, they were completely unwrapped, his arms completely bare. He sped through the enemy platoon, using his bandages to hurl them into the air before they could respond. When every last enemy ninja was in the air he began his attack. He jumped upwards, cutting at every ninja he came close to, cutting, vanishing, and cutting another. Before the first ninja could hit the ground however, he used his bandages to lift them back into the air, forming them into a circle. He jumped high above them, above the center of the circle. Again drawing his swords close to him he began to spin, using his motion to force himself downward quickly. "Konoha Lotus!" he yelled, spinning his body, a whirlwind of death, slicing through his enemies easily, almost as if they were tissue paper. He fell through the center of the circle, feeling a sharp pain as his leg broke. Ignoring it, he opened the Limit Gate for some extra strength and ran out of the valley to the fallback point, leaving many dead ninja and considerably more wounded behind.

Eagle Four relaxed visibly when they reached the fallback point, her hands trembling. She turned to Naruto and Sakura and nodded, "We're here," She walked over to Eagle  
Two who was sitting on the ground and studying a map with Dog One to give her report, Eagle Three following her. "Eagle Four and Three reporting ma'am," she said, "Mission,  
successful,"

Eagle Two looked around, her eyes confused, "And Eagle One?" her teammate's silence was all that she needed to assume what had happened. "Oh no.." she whispered.

Dog One glanced at her, "Eagle Two, what's wrong?"

Eagle Two stabbed the ground with a kunai in despair, "It's Eagle One, we may have lost him,"

Dog One looked down as well, "Damn it..." he whispered, "Okay.. we have our mission, we have to get back to High Command, Commander Nara will be waiting, move out,"

Naruto burst into the circle of ANBU, his annoyance apparent, "Well aren't we going to go save Lee-san?" He glared back as most of the ANBU in the clearing glared at him.

Eagle Two stood, pointing a kunai at Naruto, "We can't go back for him, it's not like we don't want to," her eyes began to tear up, "It's not allowed, Eagle One will have to  
find some way to survive on his own. Trust me, if there was any chance to go rescue him I'd be the first to go," her hands were trembling.

Sakura joined in, "If you want to help him so much why don't you?"

"Shut up Sakura," Eagle Five said, "You don't have any idea of what you're talking about,"

"But Shizune-san..."

"Just shut up,"

At that exact moment Eagle Seven perked up, he came to the rest of his unit, smiling under his mask. "Well, here's some news you'll all be happy about," he pointed back in the  
direction that Eagle Four's detachment had come from, "Eagle Four, Dog One, use your bloodlimit and look over there about three hundred meters and closing,"

Eagle Four activated her bloodlimit, extending its range to three hundred meters and finding a blur moving toward them, "Eagle One!" she screamed with joy.

Dog One passed a hand through his hair, obviously glad that his old friend was alive, "Well I'll be damned," he muttered. He was very glad that he didn't have to lose any more  
teammates that day, most of his squad having been annihilated in an ambush that same day.

Sakura heard them and turned in the direction that Kiba was pointing in, and watched as a blur ran into the clearing. When it stopped and revealed the heavily bleeding ANBU  
covered from head to toe with blood, she screamed. This didn't look like the Lee she knew, he was covered in blood, some his own but the majority his enemies' and his armor had  
been heavily damaged, parts of it tearing off and revealing deep gashes in his chest. His normally white bandages were now blood red and his usually ivory colored mask was black  
and burnt, parts of it crumbling off of his face. He was breathing heavily and one of his eyes was swelled closed, "Dog One, Eagle Squad, we're going to move out in a little while,"  
he gasped, clutching a hand to a gash on his chest that was almost an inch deep. "Dog One, Eagle Two, Eagle Four, Eagle Seven A and B, form a recon squad and sweep the area  
around us up to about one hundred meters, go," he watched the recon squad quickly jump away and collapsed heavily, not even having the strength to slow his fall.

Eagle Five ran to her downed squad leader, checking his body for any dangerous injuries. There were many, she began to curse darkly, healing each one in turn. She quickly  
ran out of chakra and pointed at Sakura, "Sakura you're going to take over from here, my chakra's shot," Sakura nodded and quickly ran over. She healed some of the more serious wounds, even managing to completely heal his broken leg. He smiled at her, thanking her profusely, but stopping as he remembered that he was still to act like an ANBU, a fact that Dog Five was perfectly happy to point out.

Eagle One stood back up tentatively, his body still aching horribly, to accept Dog One's report, "Eagle One, there seem to be no enemies within one hundred meters, I suggest  
we use this time to make a hasty retreat back to the command post,"

Eagle One nodded, "Understood Dog One, Eagle Squad! Move out!" he yelled. He took a step and fell to his knees his body still aching. He grimaced, more in embarassment  
than from pain and picked himself back up slowly.

"Lee-san? What's wrong now?" Naruto asked.

"I'm fine Naruto" Eagle One said quickly and walked back to his position at the head of the line. "Here's the formation," he said, "Eagle Four has point, she will sweep the location  
ahead of our position and find any enemies in front of us, then is Eagle Two, she will use her precision to strike the incoming enemies before they can attack us. Next is Naruto and  
Sakura, protecting them is our highest priority. I will be next, then Eagle Three, she will protect the sides along with Eagle Five and Eagle Six, Eagle Seven A and B will walk drag, it will be thier duty to inform us of any enemies approaching from behind. Are your positions understood?" They nodded and formed into the line, Eagle One taking his position behind Sakura, "Move out squad," he ordered. His squad quickly moved through the forest, Eagle Four quickly clearing the positions in front of them. Dog One and Five followed closely behind, using both of thier abilites to keep up with Squad Eagle. Suddenly Eagle Four held up a hand, palm away from them, the signal to stop. The entire squad stopped quickly, Naruto stumbling into Eagle Two and protesting loudly. Sakura quickly covered his mouth with her hand. Eagle Four pointed to her eyes, drew her hand into a fist and quickly stuck up four fingers.

The squad understood immidiately. They broke out of formation, Eagle One helping Naruto and Sakura into a bush. "What's going on?" Naruto said loudly.

"Be quiet idiot," Eagle Seven A whispered. "Eagle Four sees four enemy ninja approaching us, so shut up and try not to get in the way,"

"Hey!" Naruto screamed loudly. A kunai flew near his face, silencing him immidiately.

"Damn..." Eagle One said, "There goes the element of suprise," he drew a kunai, "Oh well, Squad Eagle, attack at your own discretion," He ran forward but found that his legs  
ached too badly to give him any kind of real speed. He cursed and flipped backwards, landing a good ten meters away. He knew Eagle Two was behind him and ducked, "Eagle Two!" he yelled, knowing that she would know what to do.

"Sir!" she yelled, she saw him duck and smiled, she drew one of her favorite scrolls from her combat rigging and threw it on the ground, pricking her thumb with a kunai.  
"Tobidogu!" the scroll exploded in a puff of smoke and a hail of kunai raced at her enemies. One enemy ninja was impaled immidiately, two others taking fairly serious blows, only  
one got away without any real injury. Eagle Two smirked, pulled out a pair of sai, and advanced.

Eagle One rolled back behind a tree, he couldn't help his team at all this time, so he tried to at least stay out of the way. Eagle Three stepped up, her fan flashing in the sun, sending  
bursts of wind at the enemy ninjas. The impaled ninja was killed by a burst of wind almost immidiately, the other three ninja jumping away in random directions. One jumped right into Eagle Seven A who simply reached up and sliced into the ninja with his claws, killing him. Eagle Four jumped to intercept the other, ducking under a kick and stabbing at the two tenketsu points in her opponent's arms. She drew chakra into her hand and hit the major tenketsu point on her opponent's chest, knocking him out immidiately. The last ninja slid under Eagle Six's attack, jumping backwards just in time to avoid the senbon that he spit from his mouth. He began to form handsigns when Dog One stepped in calmly and slammed his hand down on the enemy-nin's neck. The enemy ninja dropped. "Well, may we go now?" Dog One asked.

Eagle One nodded, sighing, "Well, there goes our stealth profile, everyone move as fast as you can," the ANBU squad reformed and after helping Sakura and Naruto find thier places in the formation , they all rushed through the forest as quickly as they could. Just one long continous blur through the forest.

The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful, Naruto only stumbling on a tree branch and falling several feet, luckily he was caught by a stuttering Eagle Four and wasn't injured. They wandered into the clearing that thier command post was in, a strange sight meeting thier eyes. Commander Nara was on his back, looking into the sky. "Ah..." he said as he noticed them, standing back up and smiling awkwardly. "Well... report,"

Eagle One stepped forward, throwing as salute, "Sir, Eagle Squad at one hundred percent strength sir, no casualties, we have completed our primary objective,"

Commander Nara nodded at him lazily and looked at Dog One, Dog One stepped up warily, "Sir, at roughly 1400 hours my squad ran into several enemy ANBU, roughly two squads of it sir, my team was wiped out," Everyone was astonished, they had never heard that much emotion in the usual impassive captain's voice, "Only myself and Dog Five survived sir,"

Commander Nara froze, his eyes bulging as he glanced around quickly, "B.. But Dog Four and Six? They survived right?" the ANBU looked away as thier commander's eyes filled  
with tears, "No.. no..." he whispered, "It can't be..." he looked back up at Dog One, "How... How did they die?"

Dog One looked down, things he didn't want to remember coming to his mind, "We were surrounded, at this point it was only myself, Dog Four, Dog Five, and Dog Six remaining. I called a retreat, we had simply lost too many to be effective in combat. Dog Six was hit with a kunai, deeply... too deeply, she told us to leave her, Dog Four refused, he told us to leave him and he would carry Dog Six back with him... he took all three of his pills but the stress was too much on his body, he collapsed from the pain and an enemy ANBU killed him, we tried to get Dog Six away with us, but she refused, she said she'd rather die along with him... she tried to preform a Shintenshin mind swap jutsu on the leader of thier ANBU but failed and was killed, I and Dog Five barely escaped..."

Commander Nara hung his head, turning away so his unit wouldn't see his tears, "H.. H.. How t.. troublesome," he muttered, tears flowing down his face. Eagle Three broke away from the rest of her squad and hugged him tightly, he hugged her back but then stiffened, "Okay... we're on a mission, this isn't allowed,"

Eagle Three shrugged, "Doesn't matter, hell, Eagle One over there was having a little moment of silence with his girlfriend back in the cave,"

Shikamaru pulled away from Eagle Three, anger in his features, "What?" he snapped, "Is that true?" he asked Sakura and Naruto.

Sakura could only nod her head slightly, frightened of the look in Shikamaru's eyes but Naruto burst out suddenly, "Sakura-chan is not Lee's girlfriend, and they were only talking,"

Shikamaru felt incredibly annoyed, he had lost just lost his genin team, his best friends, and now one of his captains had broken procedure, so naturally he overreacted, "Dog One," he yelled, "Take Eagle One and arrest him, I'm bringing him up on charges. An ANBU captain should never breach protocol, no matter what,"

"Commander," Dog One began, "That seems hardly neccasary, in some cases.."

Shikamaru wasn't in any mood to argue his authority, "Now, Dog One, or you'll find yourself with charges leveled against you too,"

Dog One looked away, his hands clenching, "No Sir," he said defiantly.

Shikamaru turned red, "What?" he pointed at the rest of Eagle Squad, "Arrest these men!" he yelled.

No one made any move to comply. Eagle Four stepped up with a hand raised, "S.. Sir, Eagle One was talking to Sakura in a secured location, so in essence he didn't really break any protocol," she said quietly.

Shikamaru quickly calmed himself down, realizing that he had been acting irrationally because of his sorrow over the loss of his teammates. "I guess so, let's just get back to Konoha,"

Eagle One threw another salute, "Sir," They formed up again and began to walk out of the clearing when suddenly the ground around them exploded.

"Shit," Shikamaru said softly, "They found us," he quickly formed a handseal, molding his chakra into one of his favorite jutsus, "Kage Nui!" His shadow burst from the ground,  
turning into several tendrils and burst at the enemy ninja that was staring at them impassively from a tree.

"Eagle Squad, attack with caution, there may be more ninja in the surrounding area," Eagle One shouted. He fell back into his stance, feeling his body throb painfully.

Eagle Two quickly pulled out a scroll, activating it and retrieving the staff that came from it. "Take it easy Eagle One," she yelled back, "We can handle this,"

Eagle One nodded slowly, pulling out kunai and preparing to cover his team, the enemy ninja quickly formed a handseal and multiple pillars of earth came out of the ground,  
Eagle One jumped away quickly as one of them swung near his head, another being destroyed by a Kaiten attack by Dog One. "Hakkesho Reppu!" Eagle Four yelled, sweeping her leg along the ground, a visible wave of chakra flowing along the ground, all of the pillars of earth suddenly being destroyed.

Eagle Three nodded to her, "Good job Eagle Four," she hefted her fan, sending several waves of wind spiraling up at the enemy ninja.

The enemy ninja simply jumped over the waves of air and dropped to the ground. He whispered something and suddenly there was a large wall of dirt dividing them and thier enemy. "He's almost entirely dependant on jutsu," Shikamaru yelled, his shadow tendrils slamming into the wall but doing no real damage to it, "Move in quickly and take him down with taijutsu," Eagle One, Eagle Four, Dog One, and Eagle Seven nodded, taijutsu was thier specialties.

Eagle One leapt to the left, feeling the muscles in his legs protest his movement violently. He pulled a kunai from his holster and sent it flying at the wall. It bounced off of course, but  
penetrating the wall wasn't what Eagle One had had in mind. "Dog One, Eagle Four!" he yelled, "Now!"

"Kaiten!" they yelled from opposite sides of the wall, they both spun, expelling chakra but spinning in different directions. The wall shuddered violently and broke like glass, the  
Kaitens putting too much stress on it. The wall fell, the enemy ninja who had raised it looking suprised, Eagle Seven A grinned, tongue lapping gently across his wolfish teeth. The enemy ninja turned to run but was too slow, Eagle Seven launching himself onto him and clawing madly. He quickly killed the enemy ninja and sniffed around for more enemies. He shook his head and the rest of the ANBU units around him visibly relaxed. "Let's just get back to Konoha," Dog One said softly. They quickly ran out of the clearing, Eagle Three and Eagle Seven carrying Sakura and Naruto. Four hours later they reached the outer gates of Konoha, and ten minutes after that they were safely inside. The ANBU detachments relaxing completely.

The ANBU quickly said goodbye to Naruto and Sakura, then they went to the Hokage's office to give her their debriefing. Tsunade looked annoyed that Sasuke had yet again  
refused to join them and that they had lost good ANBU in anobviouslypointless gesture. "Shit," she muttered, "Shit... we lost five ANBU for no reason, damn that Sasuke," she waved them away quickly, "You're dismissed,"

Eagle One and his team went to the room in the Hokage tower that had been built specifically for the ANBU to mobilize out of and then come back to. He took his mask off,  
his breath hitching in his throat as he saw that his body was covered in blood. He closed his eyes, trying to banish the memories of him killing but they flooded back to him. He shakily took off his armor, tossing it uncharachteristically quickly into his locker, slamming the door quickly. He wrapped his swords in a soft blanket and unwrapped the bandages on his arms again. They were red, blood having soaked into them, he shuddered again, quickly washing them and rewrapping them around his arm. He waved at the rest of his team, they all looked stunned, usual for ANBU after a mission. "Bye everyone," he said, "We may have practice tommorow, I will find you and inform you if we do,"

Kiba nodded, "Alright, see you captain,"

Lee was walking down the road, his body aching all over, trying to forget his last mission when he suddenly heard someone calling his name, "Lee! Lee!"

Lee turned around and waved to his old sensei, "Hello Gai-sensei!"

"See that man right there?" Gai yelled, still pointing to Lee, his new genin team staring at him oddly, "He's now one of the best ninja in the village! All thanks to my teaching of  
course!" his genin team continued to stare at him oddly.

"Listen to Gai-sensei well, he will not lead you wrong," Lee said proudly, turning and walking away. Though he loved to talk with his old mentor he was much to tired to really  
enjoy talking to him, "I will continue on my way sensei," he said.

Gai frowned a little, Lee was acting strangely, "Show my new team some of your skill Lee!" he shouted.

Lee sighed knowing that his sensei wouldn't leave it alone until he did and fell into his stance, hearing his sensei gush on about how perfect his form had become. He winced  
and fell to the floor heavily, his leg having given out. He heard several giggles from the genin and couldn't help but smile himself, he must have looked really stupid just then. "Gai-sensei," he said, "I opened five today sir, I am in no condition to do this,"

Gai stopped smiling immidately, looking at his prized pupil solemnly, "ANBU?"

Lee nodded and Gai motioned for him to leave. As he left he heard one of the genins pipe up, "What did he open five of, Gai-sensei?" Lee smiled. He fumbled around in his pants  
for his keys and opened the door to his small home. He walked in, dropping his swords on the table and flopped onto the bed, passing out immidiately.

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Notes: Please Review, even flames are accepted as long as they point out something I have done wrong in my story that can be fixed.  
Also please tell me if you think the rating is too low, I put it as 'Teen' because I didn't really think the fighting was that graphic but I'm not  
sure.


	3. Chapter Two: The Family of the Eagle

Eagle One: Chapter Two: The Family of the Eagle

Disclaimer: Already have a disclaimer in the pages before this but here I go again. I DON'T OWN NARUTO! Durrr

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Lee POV:  
No... it can't be. They were dead. They were all dead. I can't believe it, I refuse to believe it. I draw into my fighting stance, but I feel weak, unable to help. Then... oh no.. no...  
it is Sakura-chan... she is lying on the street with several slashes on her neck... no... it can't be. I run to her, praying that she is still alive. Praying... hoping... begging that she's still alive. I reach her and touch her neck softly, there is no pulse. Suddenly something moves behind me, I drop into my stance and dodge under the sword that is being pushed forward toward me. The enemy ninja just smiles at me and presses his attack forward. I dodge but he still manages to hit me, he's too fast for me. He's just as fast as I am. I jump up, hoping to use the height to my advantage but he jumps as well, perfectly even with me, I jerk downward, avoiding the sword but falling directly into his kick. A flash of pain, I fall back, my nose broken, I feel fear, fear that maybe I have finally met my match. I remember that he killed Sakura-chan and anger wells up in me, I slowly unwrap the bandages on my arm, opening the first three gates, he takes off his arm gauntlets, revealing similar bandages. I back away, fear driving me. He looks at me, his mask crumbling off of his face. I am staring at myself. I turn and run, feeling my legs and arms turn to jelly. I feel a bandage around my waist, hurling me into the air. I see myself hovering above me, swords drawn, "Konoha Lotus!" he yells, he strikes and I am split in half.

Mixed POV:  
Lee jerks up from his bed, sweating heavily. He stands up quickly, turning on the light. He runs a trembling hand through his hair. He glances at the clock on the wall and jumps, he  
had overslept. It was almost 4:30, he had to go train. He quickly slipped out of his uniform from yesterday and put on a Gai-esque green jumpsuit. Checking to see if his forehead protector was tied securely around his waist, he ran outside quickly, running to his favorite training field.

Sakura woke up with a huff of irritation, the branch outside her window repeatedly tapping it. She went to go clear the wayward branch away when she saw that it wasn't just a  
branch tapping at her window, it was Naruto. "Naruto?" she said softly.

"Sakura-chan!" he yelled, Sakura flinched, her parents were probably still sleeping and would be annoyed that they were disturbed. "Sakura-chan! We have to get ready!"

"What?"

"We have to go and try out! Old Lady Tsunade told Kakashi-sensei that they're having the ANBU qualification trials today!"

Sakura glanced at the clock on her desk, it was 10:24, "When is it?"

"11:00," Sakura thought for a few seconds. She wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to be an ANBU, but she wanted to prove to herself that she had gotten stronger, so she quickly  
threw on her usual clothes and ran outside quietly, trying to not disturb her parents. Naruto looked excited, "Yeah! Today's the day I'm going to become an elite ANBU!"

Sakura punched him lightly on the shoulder, "We still have to try out, there are going to be lots of really strong ninja there,"

Naruto thought for a few seconds, completely ignoring Sakura, "Hey Sakura-chan! We should go ask Lee-san what the test is like,"

Sakura nodded, not sure of what else to do. They ran down the road to Training Ground Eighteen, Lee's favorite training ground. They get close and smile, hearing the loud counting coming from the training ground followed by muted thuds. "9007, 9008, 9009, 9010," Sakura and Naruto look at each other, wide eyes as suddenly the thuds stop and muffled moans of pain come from the training ground.

Sakura ran out of the trees, hurrying to Lee who was cradling his arm. "Don't move it Lee-san,"

"Sakura-chan?"

She nodded and pulsed chakra into her hand, inspecting the wound. "You completely snapped a muscle Lee-san, how long have you been training?" she fixed his arm, refastening  
the muscle, "You're going to have to go easy on this arm for a day Lee-san,"

"About six hours,"

Naruto blinked, "What the hell! Six hours? Are you trying to kill yourself?"

Lee shrugged. "Some of us are not naturally blessed with natural abilities Naruto-kun..." he said softly. He stood up and began to punch the log with his remaining good arm. "So..  
Sakura-chan, Naruto-kun, why have you come to talk to me?"

Sakura laughed awkwardly, "Well.. the ANBU qualification exams are today and..."

"What?" Lee interrupted, "They're today?"

"Um... yes... at 11:00"

Lee cursed, he usually tried not to curse, Gai-sensei having told him long ago that it showed weakness of the mind, but this was the second time in two days, he really was slipping,  
"Shit," He jumped up and ran down the street, he had to tell the rest of his unit, ANBU tests came at random intervals and even the current ANBU were expected to retake the test. He was mad that Tsunade didn't even want to tell people when the stupid test was, that even the current ANBU for whom taking the test was necessary, didn't know when it was. He ran to every member of his squad, quickly telling them of the test, their reactions being exactly like his. He then quickly ran home, took a shower, put on his ceremonial ANBU uniform, and picked his swords up from where he had dropped them the night before. He then quickly ran to the Hokage Tower, arriving five minutes before the exam was to begin. He ran to where his squad was gathered, all of them looking fairly annoyed, "Everyone here?"

Temari glanced at him, "Mostly, Genma hasn't shown up yet,"

Tenten turned around, her conversation with Neji on hold, "Didn't Genma seem weird recently? He didn't look like he was really trying,"

Hinata nodded, "I.. remember him saying that he was f.. fed up with ANBU..."

Lee sighed and strapped his swords on, "Oh well... it looks like we're going to have some new people on our squad," He looked around the area where the new test takers were standing and was surprised to see Naruto and Sakura, "I didn't know that they were taking the exam," he muttered softly. Suddenly Tsunade motioned to him and Lee snapped to attention, facing his squad, "Squad Fifteen! Attention to arms!" He watched his squad quickly snap to attention and turned, saluting his Hokage, "ANBU squad fifteen reporting Hokage-sama,"

Tsunade looked around, noting all of the new test takers, surprised to see her old apprentice Sakura in the crowd. "Welcome to the ANBU special forces ninja selection trials. The ANBU is a highly trained, intricately organized group of the most powerful, the most intelligent, and the most skilled ninja in Konoha. These trials will consist of a practical skills test, conducted against a current member of the ANBU and a teamwork assessment where you will be put into a small three man cell with current and former ANBU members acting as your teammates. You will be judged, not only by wins and losses but through whether or not you are competent and level-headed in a battle situation. Remember, your team is first, then your mission, your own safety is of last priority. Good luck,"

She nodded to Lee who saluted again, "Squad Fifteen, step forward and sound off with your name, rank, squad code, and designation." he stepped forward, "Rock Lee, ANBU Captain of Squad Fifteen, my squad code is Eagle One, I am designated squad taijutsu and command specialist,"

Tenten stepped forward as soon as Lee stepped back, "Ara Tenten, ANBU level two, Eagle Two, I'm squad long-range specialist."

Temari looked bored, not even bothering to step up, "Nara Temari, ANBU level two, Eagle Three, support,"

Hinata stepped forward nervously, some people had to move forward to hear her , "Hyuuga H.. Hinata, ANBU level one, Eagle Four, I a.. am designated squad recon and t.. taijutsu support specialist..."

Shizune stepped forward quickly, "Just call me Shizune, ANBU level one, Eagle Five, Squad medic-nin,"

Kiba stepped up, aware of Genma's absence. "Inuzuka Kiba, ANBU level one, Eagle Seven A," he patted Akamaru, "This is Eagle Seven B, we're squad tracking specialists,"

Tsunade then nodded to the two members of the other squad, Neji stepping forward, "Hyuuga Neji, ANBU captain of squad fifteen, Dog One, taijutsu and command specialist,"

Shino just stood still, impassive as ever, "Aburame Shino, ANBU level one, Dog Five, reconnaissance specialist,"

Tsunade stood once again, turning to face the crowd, "The matches will be posted here in fifteen minutes, they will be single elimination, good luck to all of you,"

Lee quickly relieved his squad and looked around, several of the ANBU hopefuls were looking in their direction, some with respect, some with disdain, and some with annoyance. Lee just shrugged. "So Genma really isn't going to be part of our team anymore?" he had never really liked Genma, but he had been part of their squad, and they would miss him."Seems not," Temari remarked. She pointed up toward the balcony that Tsunade had been speaking from, Genma was standing there next to the Hokage, not even acknowledging the presence of his old squad. "What a prick," Temari remarked.

Naruto looked around, his eyes gleaming, Sakura knowing what was coming up tried to cover his mouth but failed, "My name's Uzumaki Naruto! You better remember it because that's the name of the next ANBU captain of Konoha!"

Hinata's eyes widened but she smiled at her idol's optimism and strength, "G.. Good l.. luck Naruto-kun..." she whispered. She grimaced, she had hoped that a year with ANBU would help her with her stuttering problem, and it had, but she couldn't help stuttering around _him_. Her squad looked at her, all of them amused, ANBU squads had to know everything, every last dark secret about each other in order to work as a perfect team. They all had assumed Hinata had a crush on Naruto before, it was very apparent, but they had realized afterward that it was much more than a simple crush, the Hyuuga clan heir really did love him. They had worked with her to lessen her stuttering but it never seemed to work when Naruto was around. Tenten winked at her and pointed to Naruto, and Hinata couldn't help but laugh at herself.

Several moments later a chunin came out and fastened a notice onto a board at the front of the room. Several ninja went up and checked it immediately, the area in front of the list becoming chaotic and stuffed with pushing ninja. "Hinata-san? Neji-san? If you would do us the honor," Lee said quietly.

Neji nodded, quickly activating the Byakugan, "First is Kiba-san against some new guy,"

Kiba grinned, "Well that guy's fresh meat. He won't stand a chance,"

"Next is Shizune-san against Sakura-san,"

Shizune looked up, "Oh.. you're joking," she looked a Sakura warily, "She hits just as hard as Tsunade-sama..."

Neji deactivated his Byakugan, "That's all you should need to know for now,"

Everyone stared at him, "Oh come on..." Temari started.

Neji looked at her oddly, then at Lee, "I'm leaving for a bit," he said, motioning for Lee to follow him as he left. They went outside, no one was around.

"What is concerning you Neji?" Lee said quickly, knowing from experience that his old teammate was concerned about something.

"You're fighting Hanabi-sama, Lee,"

Lee just stared at him, unable to believe it, "What? Why is that bad?"

"She will use every advantage against you Lee, she may even threaten you with the life of several branch family members... possibly even me," Neji's eyes were filled with hate, "I know we're friends, but for that one fight, I want you to forget about that and think of me as your enemy again Lee,"

"Why Neji?"

"Because, your squad needs you, and Hanabi-sama would never really use the cursed seal, no matter how much she threatens you with it. For the sake of our friendship promise me that you will fight her without any regard for my life,"

Lee shook his head, "I am certain it will not come down to that Neji,"

Neji shrugged, "But it may, and if it does I don't want you to lose because of me, in fact, I'm looking forward to fighting you in the final stage of the tournament,"

Lee smiled, "And I am looking forward to fighting you as well," He stuck out his hand and after a pointed glare, Neji shook it, "Good luck," Lee said.

They walked in, right in time to see a grinning Kiba deflect a kunai and knock the opposing jounin unconscious. "What? That's it?" he said disappointedly. The opposing ninja looked up at him but quickly fell back unconscious. "Pathetic," Kiba yawned and walked off the sparring ground.

"This concludes the first match, the winner is Inuzuka Kiba," Tsunade called, she yawned, she was bored out of her mind, but looking forward to the next match, it was the battle between two of her apprentices. She bet that Shizune would win, forgetting for a second that she was the worse gambler in the history of mankind. "The next match it between Haruno Sakura and Shizune,"

Sakura was about to walk onto the sparring ground when she felt someone brush her shoulder from behind, she turned and saw Lee standing there, she started to greet him but he quickly silenced her, "Listen closely Sakura-chan," he said quickly, what he was doing was wrong, but he wanted Sakura to win, he hated himself for what he was about to do, "When she reaches into her sleeves for her needle shooter, or opens her mouth too wide, she's preparing to shoot needles at you, when she does so, you must jump quickly low and to the left, she will be unable to hit you," Sakura nodded and Lee smiled, "Good luck Sakura-chan,"

He walked back to the rest of his ANBU squad when Kiba turned to him, accusation in his eyes, "That was a low trick..." he muttered.

Lee nodded, looking at the ground, "I.. I know..." he wasn't sure if what he did was right or not.

Sakura walked into the ring, Shizune looking on, "Ready to lose Sakura-chan?" she asked.

"No way Shizune-san," Sakura called back. She drew chakra into her arm, running forward. Shizune jumped back, dodging the blow, having had several years of practice from Tsunade's drunken binges. She flung the sleeve of her uniform back, revealing a needle shooter with several nasty looking needles on them. She pulled the twine back, ready to launch them at Sakura when she suddenly rolled to her left, Shizune moved her needle shooter to accommodate but failed, the needles sliding off of her shooter. She cursed and pushed in the second row of needles, not noticing Sakura running up to her quickly. "Hey Shizune-san," Shizune looked up, astonishment in her eyes. Sakura lunged at her and Shizune quickly slid under her attack, backing up and preparing her next volley of needles. Sakura quickly rolled to the side once again and Shizune found herself missing badly. They were getting nowhere. Though Sakura had strength on her side, Shizune was older, thus taller, and was a little faster.

Shizune looked into her needle bag, she had four rows left, she quickly put a row into her mouth and another in her launcher. She turned quickly, surprising Sakura who once again rolled to the left. Shizune once again swung her launcher to the left, all of the needles sliding out of the cribs that were holding them, but when Sakura finished her roll, Shizune quickly opened her mouth, launching the row of needles she had hid in her mouth. Sakura's eyes widened and she jumped upward, one needle still finding its way through her leg. She glared at Shizune and pulled it out quickly, drawing a kunai as she did. She threw it, and Shizune, as expected, jerked away from it, right into Sakura's punch. Sakura pummeled Shizune with her chakra infused fists. Shizune bravely blocked several of the blows, healing her bones as they started to bruise and break, she stumbled away, dropping her needle sack on the ground. She cursed and opened her mouth, a bag of specially prepared poison waiting, "Dokugiri!" she spewed a sleeping gas at Sakura, quickly backing up and reaching for her second bag of needles. Sakura burst from the smokescreen, having held her breath when she saw Shizune go into her characteristic form, and quickly knocked her out with a blow to the temple. Sakura smiled as pressed a glowing hand to Shizune's head, reviving her immediately. Shizune looked up, "Good job, Sakura-chan,"

Tsunade looked amazed, she had known that Sakura had become formidable in a fight but not that she could beat her old apprentice that easily. "The second match is over, the winner, Haruno Sakura," she looked down at the list in her hand and continued, "Match Three consists of Hyuuga Hanabi against Rock Lee,"

Lee quickly nodded to a still angry looking Neji and went out to the sparring ground. Hanabi also calmly walked out, her pupil-less eyes calmly gazing over Lee. She scoffed in disgust. "Well, there isn't much too bother me here," she said loudly and obnoxiously.

Lee was slightly annoyed at Hanabi's lack of respect for other people but smiled at her regardless, he quickly bowed to her in the polite and traditional way, resolving to show her how you should act, to friend and foe alike. "I am very sorry to hear that you think that Hanabi-chan,"

"Stop calling me 'chan' I'm not your friend," she snapped, falling into her Jyuken stance.

Lee shrugged, "I have found no reason to not consider you a friend, as you have not become an enemy yet, so if it does not bother you too much I will continue to call you Hanabi-chan," he fell into his stance as well, matching her enraged glare with an amused one of his own, "Maybe you should learn to respect those you are about to fight?"

"Maybe you should suck on it," Hanabi said, moving forward quickly, she struck out with her left hand, Lee dodged it and blocked the next Jyuken strike with an open-handed block of his own.

Lee jumped over a sweeping kick from Hanabi and quickly cartwheeled to the side, avoiding another Jyuken strike. He blocked another strike with his forearm and struck her with the flat of his hand, slamming it into her side, not hard enough to cause real injury but hard enough for her to feel it. Lee was getting more into the rhythm of the battle now, the Jyuken being an almost rhythmic form, he sidestepped another flurry of strikes from Hanabi, kicking her lightly as she blew past him. "Hanabi-chan, you need to go lower in your stance and project more power to your legs so you can move faster when attacking,"

"I don't need to listen to you!" she snarled, jumping at him again, she shot her arm out, Lee just blocked it again, the bandages on his arms absorbing the damaging potential of the chakra magnificently. Hanabi cursed and sunk lower into her stance, preparing for a Kaiten attack.

Lee read the attack perfectly, jumping forward and kicking the younger girl lightly to throw off her balance enough so she couldn't start the quick spin needed for a Kaiten attack. She quickly spun on her heel and stabbed at a tenketsu point on his left arm, Lee quickly wheeled backwards, causing Hanabi to overextend and stumble clumsily. "Wait for me to wander into your easy reach "Hanabi-chan," he scolded, "Don't overextend trying to come to me," He ducked under another stab from Hanabi and rolled behind the smaller girl, she turned around quickly to find a fist hovering near her head, "You should be prepared to react at a moment's notice if necessary, you are moving after your opponent attacks when in truth you should be moving at the same time,"

"Shut up!" Hanabi yelled, raining a barrage of strikes toward Lee who dodged them fairly simply. Lee smiled, Hanabi may have been good, but she was slower than both Hinata and Neji, and more linear than both, she was so predictable that Lee found that he could dodge her attacks without really thinking about what she would try next. "STOP SMILING!" Hanabi shrieked, her small arms coming up to block a slow kick, Lee turned his leg down at the last moment, kicking her stomach instead of her face. Hanabi staggered backward, dodging another kick and moving forward, trying to trap the taller ninja into a closer exchange of blows. Lee simply ducked under another Jyuken strike and cartwheeled away. He was still smiling, fighting this battle with ease, having not even really broken a sweat yet. Hanabi gritted her teeth in anger and ran forward, drawing chakra into her opposite hand, she quickly struck at Lee with her front hand, he blocked it, and then followed up quickly with a strike from her opposing hand. Lee grinned as he saw her finally use some vestige of creativity and ducked, the hand sailing easily over his head, he jumped back up, spinning low around his opponent, knocking her off her feet. Hanabi grunted as she hit the floor and rolled away, panting heavily. She quickly ran forward again, kicking at Lee's stomach, and preparing another Jyuken open palmed strike in case that failed. Lee blocked the kick, pushing her leg to the left quickly. Hanabi planted her foot and began her spin, "Hakkesho Kaiten!" she screamed.

Lee jumped back just in time to avoid the Kaiten, he stood there patiently, waiting for Hanabi to stop the spin.

Hinata turned to Neji, her eyes worried, "Neji-niisan... is it good for Lee-san to be underestimating Hanabi like that?"

Neji just smiled at her, "Hanabi-sama may be good in the traditional sense but she has no ability to improvise or improve at all, that's where her innate weakness lies, she won't even accept Lee's advice, knowing he's a taijutsu specialist. He may not look like much, but he's on a completely different level from Hanabi-sama,"

Hinata shook her head, "T.. That's not what I meant Niisan, if he keeps playing with her like that I'm sure the judges will think he's immature and not worthy to be a captain and he'll lose his squad,"

Neji patted Hinata on the shoulder comfortingly, "His squad really cares about him doesn't it,"

Hinata nodded, a soft glimmer in her eyes, "H.. He's a great squad leader, he helps us all with our taijutsu and he always does what's best for us, even at his own expense..."

Neji smiled, "I'm glad you've found someone who can help you Hinata-sama,"

"Niisan, you know I hate it when you call me 'sama', please don't do it again," she turned back to the match, Lee had dodged another Kaiten attack by Hanabi, her movements were becoming sluggish and tired, "I really want him back as our squad leader," Neji smiled, his cousin had tried so hard, for so long to change herself and she had come so far, he was so proud of her.

Hanabi frowned, she really hadn't wanted to do this, it was unbecoming of a member of the Hyuuga main house, but she had to win at all costs. She struck at Lee again, swiftly whispering, "So I guess you don't care about your friend Neji?" Lee frowned but blocked her attack and continued to fight, "I have a seal that I can make and fry his mind, it's not instant, it's actually quite painful," she drew away from the fight, forming a seal with her thumb, forefinger and the forefinger and middle finger of her other hand. "Watch," she hissed.

Neji felt his forehead grow hot, he couldn't believe that she would actually activate the seal in public, he clutched his forehead, tears coming involuntarily to his eyes. He glared at Lee, Lee looked indecisive. "If you lose, I will kill you Lee," he whispered, he felt the heat in his head diminish and his hand fell away from his forehead and he smiled at a frightened looking Hinata, "Don't worry, Lee won't fall for underhanded tricks like that,"

Lee quickly released the weights on his arms, the two hundred pound weights sliding off and slamming into the ground with a loud thud. Hanabi looked at him curiously but kept her hands in the seal. He flexed his legs, the five hundred pound weights on them weighing him down mightily. "So this is what the main house of the great Hyuuga clan resorts to when their skill is subpar?" Lee asked with a grin.

"Shut up!" Hanabi screamed, she ran forward, hands flying toward Lee, Lee smiled and turned the quick assault aside, Hanabi blinked, she had thought Lee was fast before but he was almost three times as fast now, she cursed, feeling her hands completely miss their target. She retreated back once again, "I'm completely serious," she said quickly, "I'll kill him, as a member of the Hyuuga main family I have every right to do so,"

"No one has the right to take another's life for no reason," Lee said softly, Hanabi brought her fingers together again quickly, Neji grimacing as the pain returned. Lee quickly reached down and tore the five hundred pound weights off of his legs, the ground visibly shook as they hit the ground. "I apologize but if you insist on this course I will have no choice but to discourage you with force," he felt marvelously light, free of all seven hundred pounds he trained with. Hanabi forced more chakra into the seal, Neji falling to the ground in pain. Lee made his choice, he ran, faster than Hanabi could see or react and appeared in front of her, he reached out and crushed her hand, breaking the smaller girl's hand so she could no longer form the hand seal required, "I apologize," he said softly, "But I cannot allow you to do that," Tears of pain brimmed in Hanabi's eyes and Lee felt ashamed, even knowing that what he did was the only way he could have possibly resolved the situation without severely injuring her and possibly Neji if he didn't act quickly enough. "I am very sorry," he said softly and walked back to his weights, putting them on again.

Tsunade stood up, not exactly sure what had happened, it was apparent that Lee had won though, "Winner, Rock Lee. The next match it between Hyuuga Hinata and Ashikami Asuju,"

Lee completely finished reattaching his weights on his arms and legs and walked off of the sparring field, he nodded to Hinata, "I will be back, I am going to go take Hanabi-chan to the hospital, good luck Hinata-chan," he quickly picked up Hanabi lightly, who simply glared at him hate in her eyes as she nursed her broken hand. Lee smiled at Neji, "Are you okay Neji?"

Neji shrugged, still remembering the pain in his head, "I've been better," he muttered. Lee smiled and jumped away, Hanabi still glaring at him angrily.

Hinata stepped out onto the sparring ground, her opponent bowing to her quickly, "I am honored to fight a member of both the legendary Hyuuga clan and the ANBU," he said quickly.

Hinata bowed back politely, "Thank you, I'm honored to fight you as well," She quickly dodged her opponent's kunai and jumped forward, drawing chakra into her hands. He spun, trying to find a weak point in her defense, Hinata blocked a punch and cartwheeled sideways, finishing behind her opponent, she reached forward and tapped the tenketsu point on his shoulder, disabling his left arm. He drew back away from her, throwing several shuriken, "Hakkesho Daisenpu!" she yelled, using the attack she learned from Lee to her advantage, she deflected the shuriken and sent several waves of chakra racing at her opponent. He raised his working arm to try to deflect the chakra but the speed that the chakra was moving at was too much for him and he flew backward quickly, slamming into the wall.

He stood back up, surprise written on his face as he surveyed the lavender-eyed girl before him. He smiled at her his shoulders slumping, "I know when I'm clearly outmatched," he said, "Hokage-sama, I forfeit," Hinata shook his hand, "I'm sorry I kept you from becoming an ANBU," she said softly. He just smiled at her.

"Yeah Hinata-chan!" Naruto yelled, "You totally showed him! Yeah!" Hinata's face turned beet red and she quickly smiled at Naruto, "You rock Hinata-chan!" Naruto yelled. Hinata was overcome with happiness, she had been acknowledged and commended by the one she loved, she was incredibly happy.

"Winner, Hyuuga Hinata," Tsunade announced, she was stunned, the small Hyuuga girl hadn't done that well the previous several tests, "The next match should have consisted of Uzumaki Naruto and Shiranui Genma, but due to the ANBU member's withdrawal, Uzumaki Naruto wins by default,"

Naruto was slightly disappointed that he wasn't going to fight his first round but was happy that he was going onto the next round, "Well you're lucky," Sakura said to him, grinning.

"I'm going to win and become an ANBU captain! It's just the next step to becoming Hokage!" Naruto yelled with his usual optimism.

A chunin quickly leaned over to Tsunade, whispering into her ear urgently. She stiffened and looked down oddly, "Is this true?" she asked him.

"Yes Hokage-sama,"

Tsunade cursed loudly, the entire crowd turning to stare at her, "I apologize but we're going to have to cancel these tests, ANBU, move to your mobilization points right now,"

Tenten looked around, Lee wasn't back yet so she had command, "Eagle Squad!" she yelled, "We're going to the mobilization room, dress down, equip and prepare to move out,"

"Yes Ma'am!"

Tsunade looked over at the squad of ANBU, "Which one of you is the fastest?"

Kiba raised his hand, "I am Hokage-sama,"

"Go get Eagle One,"

"Yes Ma'am!" Kiba took off down the street, not even a blur.

"Ma'am we're down two people," Tenten said calmly, "Shizune is in no condition to take an ANBU mission and Genma has withdrawn from the ANBU altogether,"

Tsunade thought deeply for a few seconds, "Sakura, Naruto!" she yelled.

They quickly ran toward her, "What?" Naruto said, slightly annoyed.

"How would you like to have your first ANBU mission today?"

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other, "But we haven't been trained with the team yet..." Sakura said.

"We don't even have masks..." Naruto added.

"Well..." Tsunade snapped her fingers as she suddenly had an epiphany, "Naruto ask Genma for his and Sakura can borrow Shizune's,"

"Okay... that's kinda sick..." Naruto said.

"Then I guess I'll just have to find someone who doesn't mind..." Tsunade said as she stood up.

"No!" Naruto yelled. He sighed, "I'll do it,"

"Good,"

Lee and Kiba burst through the door, almost ripping it off of its hinges, Lee looked around at his squad, they were slowly moving toward the mobilization room, they all looked a little lost, unsure of what to do. "Squad Eagle!" he shouted, his squad immediately stopped everything they were doing and looked at him, "Get your equipment together, get to the mobilization room, take care of your things, and meet back up here in full ANBU gear in less than three,"

They saluted and left. Kiba turned to him grinning, "Wow, that's some authority you got there man," he ran down the stairs too.

Lee walked up to the Hokage, throwing a quick salute, "Hokage-sama, when will we receive the specifics on our mission?"

"Your mission scroll is being written up as we speak, head to the west gate, it should be waiting there for you, Sakura and Naruto have been placed on your team for this mission to replace Eagle Five and Six,"

Lee wasn't sure whether to be happy or not, "But Hokage-sama, they have not been trained, nor do they have the proper equipment. Why not substitute Dog One and Dog Five into our squad  
for this mission?"

"They have their own mission to attend to, you need two people, you now have two people, deal with it,"

"Yes Ma'am," Lee ran down the stairs, accidentally bumping into Sakura, "Sakura-chan?"

"Oh hey Lee-san,"

"I.. I.. I was wondering," Lee grimaced, why did he suddenly have a stutter, "I was wondering if you had some proper equipment to go on a mission in..."

Sakura looked at him questioningly, "No... but..."

"I have two ANBU standard robes for you and Naruto-kun, they're not much but they will protect you from weaker attacks and camouflage you,"

Sakura smiled at the awkward looking ninja in front of her, "Thank you Lee-san,"

Lee quickly ran into the mobilization room, strapping on his armor and retrieving his mask, he pulled out two extra ANBU robes from his locker as well and quickly ran back to Sakura, he held out the smaller of the two, she smiled and Lee felt his heart melt with joy, "They're not much," he said softly.

Sakura took the robes, they were simple robes, black with the ANBU crest on the left shoulder, the robes came down to her feet but they were comfortable and moved easily, "They're great Lee-san, thank you so much,"

Lee smiled broadly, "You are welcome Sakura-chan!" he walked to Naruto who was staring at the ground intently, "Here Naruto-kun,"

Naruto looked up, he looked worried, "Thanks Lee," he said, taking the robe and slipping off his orange jacket. "Lee-san," he said quietly, "Me and Sakura have never worked on this team before, are we going to be okay?"

Lee smiled, trying to act cheerful, "Do not worry Naruto-kun, you are with the best possible squad members, no other squad has ever had such a high success rate as ours," Naruto looked at him, trying to detect a lie, but failing to find one, smiled. "Shall we go?" Lee said, glancing around at his squad, they nodded. Lee stared at the mask in his hands, taking a deep breath, he quickly fastened it over his face, the familiar weight descending on him, he suppressed his emotions, and Rock Lee was no more.

Eagle One looked around, "Okay, we are heading for the west gate, move out, we have to move fast," his squad nodded to him, "Move out!"

The squad quickly jumped from rooftop to rooftop, heading for the west gate. Eagle Six tugged at the mask, it was uncomfortable and annoying him. "Hey Lee-san! What's the mission?"

Eagle One grimaced, that was a huge breach in protocol but he was about to respond when Eagle Seven A began to shout at him, "While we're on this mission, you either call him Eagle One or captain, you got that?"

"Shut up dogface," Eagle Six yelled back.

"You're new Eagle Six but that's no excuse to break apart the team's discipline like that! Shut up!" Eagle Two yelled.

Eagle One stopped, his squad stopping with him, all of them looking at him questioningly, he had to stop this, it was spiraling quickly out of control, "EVERYONE SHUT UP," he yelled, it was quiet, the only sound being Eagle Six's quiet muttering, "We are on a mission, and we are a team, if you have any problems with each other, they will be settled outside of ANBU, understand?" He waited until everyone stopped muttering, "You are all ANBU, you are all special forces, why are you acting like children?" he quickly started running again, "Move out,"

They reached the west gate, a frantic looking dispatch chunin waving a mission scroll, "Hurry," was all the chunin said.

Eagle One quickly unrolled the scroll and peering into it. His eyes grew wide as he read it, his eyes moving as if by themselves to Eagle Five for a few seconds. He motioned for his team to follow him and quickly ran out the gate. His team followed him silently, he looked at each of them, his eyes lingering for a few seconds longer on the green eyes that he loved, "We have a mission," he began, "It's rated ANBU S Class,"

Eagle Two's eyes grew wide. "ANBU S?" There were special codings for ANBU missions, ANBU missions typically being more dangerous than regular S class missions. ANBU D class missions were the rough equivalent of a regular A class mission, "Are we even suitable for an ANBU S class mission?" Squad Eagle had only ever taken two ANBU S class missions, both with a fully cohesive team, support, and fairly good intelligence reports, they had none of those now, and even then half of the squad was in the hospital for weeks recovering.

Lee looked away, in truth, he wasn't sure, his squad was heavily divided right now, no real cohesiveness showing itself. "We are to intercept Uchiha Sasuke and Orochimaru as they are engaged by Akatsuki agents, we are to distract Orochimaru and the Akatsuki while one of us attempts to convince Sasuke to join us.. again," he tried to stop the annoyance from creeping into his voice but failed outstandingly, "Eagle Five, that will be your job, everyone else will fight an agent of Akatsuki or Orochimaru, he may have Kabuto with him as well, we must hold them off..."

Eagle Six cracked his knuckles loudly, grinning triumphantly under his mask, "Alright! We'll get Sasuke back this time! Yeah!"

Eagle Seven A looked at him, his disdain obvious in his eyes, "Yeah sure, just like we did last time?"

"Shut up dog boy!"

Eagle Five quickly turned around and slapped Eagle Seven A, "Shut up!" she yelled. "He'll join us for sure this time!" she yelled. Hoping beyond hope once again.

Eagle One sighed, it was happening again, his squad falling apart and bickering like little children, "Calm down everyone," he said quickly. They continued to bicker and Eagle One felt his blood boil in anger, "SHUT UP!" he yelled again, as they looked at him quickly he sighed again, "If we do not start acting more like a real team we will have to decline the mission, because there is no way we will be able to accomplish this mission in this state, no chance at all,"

"Sorry Lee-san," Eagle Six said timidly, earning another enraged glare from Eagle Seven A. "I... I mean Eagle One!" he yelled.

Eagle Five nodded as well and Eagle One ran his hand through his hair in an obviously nervous gesture, "Okay, form up like this, Eagle Four is in front, then Eagle Two, Three, Six, Five, myself, and Eagle Seven A and B walking drag," They quickly shuffled to their places and with a few quick hand signals they were away.

About three hours into the mission Eagle Four stopped the squad, her pupil-less eyes flaring, "Sound-nins," she whispered quietly.

Eagle One motioned to Eagle Two to go scout out the area ahead of them, she saluted and quickly disappeared into the underbrush, silent as a shadow.

Eagle One waved at his squad to relax, putting Eagle Seven on guard. He was trying to clear his head of the emotions that had swelled around in it since he had opened the mission scroll. He remembered the first time he had personally gone to find Sasuke for his angel. The first of many times.

/

Lee flexed his arm, pain shooting through it, he grimaced but remembered that Tsunade-sama had said that he would need to rest for a few more weeks until it healed up completely. He heard the door slam open and turned just in time to see his sensei run in, tears streaming down his cheeks. "GAI-SENSEI!" Lee yelled.

"MY PRECIOUS LEE!" Gai couldn't help but cry as he felt all of the worry lift off of his shoulders, Lee had survived the surgery, and like a phoenix rising from the ashes, his dream was  
reachable once more. His precious protege had tears running down his face too. "YOU'VE BEEN HEALED!"

"YOSH GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!" Lee felt himself be crushed in a hug by his sensei and hugged him back tightly, he was so happy to be alive. The customary sunset, waves, and melodramatic saxophone  
music was just beginning when loud sounds interrupted the two. Lee's eyes widened as he realized who it was, he quickly ran out of the room, leaving behind a stunned looking Gai.

"THEY'VE BEEN GONE TOO LONG!" Sakura screamed, "I'M GOING AFTER THEM!" tears streaking her face she stomped out of the hospital, ignoring Tsunade's attempts to calm her down. "Just wait... I'm coming Sasuke-kun..." she whispered, more to herself than anyone else, her breath coming in agonized gasps now.

Sakura was running down the road to the edge of the forest where Naruto and the other had left from when she felt a hand close around her arm. "Sakura-chan..." Lee said softly.

Sakura looked away, she was in no mood for one of Lee's 'youthful' speeches about how much he loved her, she needed to get to her Sasuke-kun. "What Lee-san?" she said, more forcefully then she had meant to be. "What DO YOU WANT?" his eyes widened in pain at her words but she plunged on regardless, "Why can't you just LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE? You always have to show up and babble on about the power of youth and fires of the lotus or whatever! SO WHAT! WHAT DO YOU WANT!"

Lee quickly brushed away the tears that sprang to his eyes, he knew his angel was troubled but her words had hurt him deeply nonetheless, "I.. I.. I am s.. sorry S.. Sakura-chan..." he muttered, looking at the ground, finding that he was suddenly unable to look in the green eyes he loved so much, "Are you going to go for Sasuke-kun?" he asked softly.

Sakura was too concerned for Sasuke to care about how much she had hurt Lee, "YES SO LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Lee stiffened and released her arm, his eyes still filled with tears that refused to stop. "Sakura-chan..." he looked her in the eyes, she looked at him oddly, as if seeing him for the first time, he smiled painfully, "I only wish you to be happy, that is all I have ever wanted... if the Uchiha is truly who you love... I wish you the best of luck with him..." he quickly pulled his arm out of the sling it was in and moved his leg to test it, "I cannot allow you to do something as dangerous as this," her eyes widened as she realized what he was trying to imply, "I will go in your stead..."

"But you're injured!"

Lee smiled sadly, pain radiating from his eyes, "I cannot stand to watch you partake in something this dangerous. I swore I would protect you with my life..." he walked past her, patting his angel on the shoulder, his aching heart not affording him any more emotion than that, "And I will now hold to that vow..." before she could answer he began to run, clearing the Konoha gate before the guard could even check his identity, his heart racing, and his tears falling silently behind him. Halfway to the location of Shikamaru's team Lee was finally caught by his sensei, Maito Gai dropping in front of him quickly in a puff of smoke, "Please move out of the way sensei..." Lee said quietly.

"Don't do this Lee! You need to rest! The fires of youth burn fiercely within you but even they need to be refreshed sometimes,"

Gai's eyes almost popped out of his skull as he saw his favorite student falling into his fighting stance, wincing faintly. "I will protect my Sakura-blossom sensei, and if you stand in my way, I apologize but I will have to fight you..." his eyes pleaded with his sensei to move out of his way.

Gai quickly regained his composure, "Lee..."

"NO SENSEI! MOVE OUT OF THE WAY! NOW!" Lee yelled, surprised at his own boldness. "I will protect her..."

Gai stared at him sternly, "Why Lee?"

Lee smiled sadly again, his heart begging him to surrender and simply let life overtake him, "Because I love her with all of my heart and soul... and I would protect her with my life..."

Gai frowned, he couldn't help but feel that his student was being a little excessive, "Lee... this is too far for a youthful crush..."

Lee swelled in anger, "IT'S NOT A CRUSH GAI-SENSEI! I REALLY DO LOVE HER! AND I WILL FIGHT AND TRAIN AND HURT UNTIL I BECOME A MAN WORTY OF HER! IF HER LIFE IS EMPTY MINE IS EMPTY AS WELL! I WILL UPHOLD MY PROMISE TO HER! I WILL BRING BACK HER LOVE SO SHE MAY FIND HAPPINESS! BECAUSE THAT IS ALL I WISH! EVEN IF SHE IS NOT HAPPY WITH ME! NOW MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!"

Gai stared at him, shocked, but then chuckled, the chuckling eventually turning into full out laughing, Lee glared at him, he didn't see anything funny at all about the situation. "My dear student..." Gai began, his chuckling reaching a peak, "When I first found you, you were a simple boy, but now... you have grown and become a true man," he went up to Lee who was tearing up slightly and patted him on the shoulder, "Go then, I'll make sure your dear blossom doesn't follow you,"

Lee smiled at his sensei and caught the small red pill that he threw him, he looked down in his hand, his expression confused, "A soldier pill?"

"You're injured, if you're going to get there and be of any help you'll need it," Gai gave his student a 'good-guy' pose, smiling broadly, "Now go," He hurried back to the village, trying to think of some way to make it seem to Tsunade that he didn't know about Lee's recovery.

"SIR!" Lee quickly swallowed the pill and burst into the forest, feeling new strength. He ran until he saw Naruto fighting some odd tall ninja with bones sticking from his body at odd angles. He saw the odd pale man strike at Naruto with an odd sword and jumped in, "KONOHA SENPU!" he knocked the pale man away, Naruto looking on astonishedly his eyes growing comically wide.

The odd man stood back up slowly, looking Lee up and down, sizing him up, "And you are?"

Lee smiled, dropping into his signature form, "The Leaf's Proud Azure Beast has reawakened! I AM ROCK LEE!" he roared.

Naruto looked at him quizzically, "Thick-brows... why... what about your body?" '_Why are his eyes puffy and red? Has he been crying?'_ Naruto mused.

Lee turned his head toward Naruto, flashing him a quick smile but keeping his eye on his enemy, "Do not worry Naruto! Go get Sasuke!" Naruto paused and Lee thrust out his arm, turning back to his opponent, opening his hand into a thumbs-up, "What are you doing? Hurry up!"

"But that guy's insanely strong!"

"You promised Sakura-chan that you would bring back Sasuke-kun with your good-guy pose right?" Naruto just stared at him and Lee said confidently, "I will defeat this person, that is a promise!" He felt his heart break as he said those words but kept his face stony, not revealing any emotion to the other genin. _'Sakura-chan... though you will never love me.. I wish you all of the happiness in the world, and if I lose my life in that pursuit, so may it be,'_ he thought grimly.

Naruto nodded and left quickly, running after Sasuke.

Gai quickly ran several laps around Konoha, trying to make himself seem more tired than he actually was. He quickly ran to the hospital and asked for Tsunade, he was led to a room and he burst in quickly, surprising Tsunade, "W.. What? Gai? You look exhausted! Did something happen on your mission?"

"No after my mission was finished I flew back here as soon as possible," Gai pretended to overreact, thinking of how he reacted when he first visited Lee's room earlier that day, "But more important than that... Lee! What became of Lee's operation?" He already knew the answer, but had to pretend not to so Tsunade wouldn't send a search party after his student, he had to do this on his own... to prove his nindo.

Tsunade smiled at him, "Success! He'll be able to start training his jutsu tomorrow but he'll have to take it easy for a few weeks,"

Gai almost relaxed, believing the bluff to have worked when suddenly another doctor burst through the doors, "It's... it's horrible Godaime! Rock Lee is no longer in his room!" They quickly ran to Lee's room, Gai still pretending to not have any knowledge of what was happening, trying to convince Tsunade that Lee probably just went to train, she apparently didn't listen and Gai tuned out most of the discussion about when and how Lee might have escaped from the hospital. He quickly stiffened when he heard the word 'Sake' in all of his years of knowing Lee, he had never seen him as destructive or dangerous than when he was using his Suiken fighting style while intoxicated. He gasped and Tsunade glared at him until he found himself explaining to her that Lee was a master of the Suiken fighting style. Her eyes widened and Gai couldn't help but agree with the look in her eyes.

/

"Sir!" Eagle Two whispered as she got back, snapping Eagle One out of his reverie. "There's a recon team from the Sound directly in front of us at one zero degrees, almost three hundred  
meters,"

"Okay," Eagle One muttered, formulating a strategy in his mind quickly and efficiently, "We're going to move on their left with myself, three Kage Bushins, and Eagle Three, you should stay back with Eagle Five and cover the flanks, make sure no one stumbles over a weak point on accident, and Eagle Four, Six, Seven A and B will hit them hard on the right as soon as they're distracted," Eagle One looked at his squad, Eagle Six and Eagle Seven silently squabbling again and Eagle Four staring at Eagle Six with rapt attention, her adoration in her eyes. He sighed, this was going to turn out badly, he could feel it already. "Eagle Squad! Move out! Formations are like I just explained," he glanced at Eagle Six, "Eagle Six, three Bushins please,"

Eagle Six nodded, his hands forming the seal, "No problem thick-brows,"

"That's Captain to you idiot," Eagle Two yelled.

"Why should I call him captain? He's still thick-brows right? So I can still call him that!" Eagle Six yelled.

Eagle Seven leapt into the conversation, "Hey, shut up! Eagle One deserves more respect from you, you little prick!"

"E.. E.. Eagle Seven.. Eagle Six h.. hasn't been a p.. part of our team so long.. he deserves another ch.. chance..." Eagle Four said softly, trying to placate both sides to no avail.

"Thanks Hinata-san!" Eagle Six yelled, "Glad to see someone here isn't an uptight, self-righteous idiot!"

"You will call her Eagle Four!" Eagle Three yelled back, "You're just too stupid to remember the code names obviously!"

"I am not!"

Eagle One sighed in frustration, it was getting worse and worse, the stupid and inane bickering and infighting growing. "Well at least I don't constantly smell like wet dog!" Eagle Six yelled.

"Shut your stupid mouth!" Eagle Two yelled, "We're on a mission! Can't you wait a few hours to be stupid?"

Eagle One suddenly stiffened, jumping into the middle of circle of arguing ANBU, "Konoha Senpu!" he yelled, quickly knocking them all back.

Eagle Six was mad at everyone and now Eagle One had hit him, he snapped, running at him, fist raised, "Oh, that's it!" Eagle Four quickly ran in, blushing as she grabbed his arm and held him tightly so he couldn't move. She simply pointed at Eagle One and Eagle Six felt his eyes widen. "Oh..."

Eagle One stood slowly, pulling out the three kunai that he had taken for his team, his stomach burning horribly, bleeding heavily. "Can we please focus now?" he said quietly.

Eagle Four quickly released a stunned Eagle Six, quickly jumping up at the first enemy recon soldier, she quickly dodged a shuriken and threw a kunai of her own back. The enemy ninja caught it, chuckling, he obviously didn't notice the small burning explosive note on the inside of the handle, his eyes widened as the kunai exploded, sending low-velocity shrapnel everywhere and knocking him out.

Eagle Two quickly shook off her confusion at the sudden attack and summoned another pair of sai, running quickly at another enemy soldier, he dodged under her slash and kicked violently upwards, she dodged to the side, both of their sides open to attack and they lunged at each other again. Eagle Two grinned in pain as she dug her sai deeply into the enemy soldier's chest, his kunai digging into the arm she had flung upward to protect her side. He was good, but weapons combat was her specialty, he had no chance to best her in a one on one fight.

Eagle Six quickly ran into motion, forming five Kage Bushins and sending them to try to attack his enemies from behind. He quickly formed a Rasengan and rolled under a punch, jamming it into the sound-nin's stomach. "Rasengan!" the sound-nin's eyes widened momentarily but he quickly rolled backward, avoiding it by barely a hair. Naruto growled in anger and launched himself forward again, swinging quickly at his enemy. His eyes grew wide as the sound-nin dodged his attack effortlessly and deftly kicked him in the abdomen. Naruto flipped back and using the same hand he used to flip with he spun his body, slamming both of his feet into the side of the sound-nin's head, he dropped like a rock, immediately unconscious.

Eagle One dodged under his enemy's attack, the wounds in his stomach screaming in pain, he backflipped, barely avoiding another kunai and tried to move in, the sound-nin was good with kunai and was keeping him at a fair range, Eagle One suddenly found himself at a distinct disadvantage, he couldn't hit her because she was beyond his reach and she couldn't hit him because of his inherent speed. It was a draw. Eagle One stood perfectly still like Eagle Two taught him, taking a kunai to the stomach again but tossing one of his own and impaling the sound-nin through the chest.

Eagle Five drew a massive amount of chakra into her arm and slammed it into the ground. Two enemy scouts fell as heavy rocks, manipulated by Eagle Two using chakra strings, hit them solidly on the sides of their heads. The last sound nin quickly jumped up and began to run away, he was fast, but Eagle Two's skill with a kunai quickly brought him crashing to the ground, blood leaking from his mouth. "All enemy ninja down Eagle One," Eagle Four said quietly.

Eagle One stood, still gasping in pain, the kunai having gone completely through his armor. He pulled it out with shaking fingers and threw it behind him, "Look! We need to work like a team or none of us are going to make it back!" he glared angrily at his team, their gazes dropping to avoid his enraged eyes, "Get it together, right now!" He pointed to Eagle Seven, "You were too busy arguing to sniff out any enemies that may have been coming to ambush us," his gaze turned to Eagle Two and Six, both of them looking sheepish, "You two were bickering so loudly that you alerted the recon squad to our position! And when they attacked you paused, giving them time to move into more advantageous positions!" he turned to Eagle Four, his eyes slightly softening, "That was a good reaction to attack Eagle Four, exceptional, but you were so engrossed with the conversation that you didn't even bother to check your surrounding with your bloodlimit," he sighed heavily, sitting down quickly, his stomach burning with pain. "If this does not improve we are going to have to scrub the mission,"

Eagle Five stepped up, concern shining in her eyes, "But what about Sasuke-kun?"

"We cannot go and rescue him in this state! Our team is at about a genin level right now!" Eagle One stormed, "Our teamwork is in tatters! If we proceed with the mission we will need someone to come rescue US not the other way around!"

The squad looked away, an awkward silence settling around them, "So what would you have us do?" Eagle Four asked quietly. "Captain?"

Eagle One looked down, "I.. I do not know..." he couldn't help but feel that he had failed, he had failed his team, his village... and himself.

Eagle Two glanced at her watch, "What time should we arrive to the objective point Eagle One?"

"In about five hours, we are to get there almost a day before both the Akatsuki agents and Orochimaru arrive,"

"Obviously we're going to need to do those teamwork drills again," Eagle Two commented.

Eagle One smiled suddenly, "That is a great idea Eagle Two! After we set up our main support and logistics base we will do some teamwork drills!"

"Teamwork drills?" Eagle Five said, "What kind of teamwork drills?" her mind instantly drifted to the bell test that Kakashi had put them through, first when they were genin and later when Naruto returned to Konoha from traveling with Jiraiya. "Like the kind of exercises we did in genin training?"

Eagle Seven A shook his head violently, "Not even close, this is ANBU. Other teams can get by with only knowing the vaguest about their teammates, in ANBU, you have to know everything about them, and I mean everything,"

Sakura couldn't help but glance at Naruto who was solemnly staring at the ground, "B.. But it can't be absolutely necessary to know everything about your teammates right?"

"I.. It helps the t.. team Eagle Five... we need to trust each other fully and c.. completely," she pulled out a kunai, tossing it at Eagle One, he didn't even flinch as the kunai flew very closely to his neck and lodged itself into the tree he was leaning on Eagle One simply pulled it out of the tree and threw it back to Eagle Four who caught it and put it back in her kunai holster, "O.. Our t.. trust must be complete or we'll f.. fail..." she mentally slapped herself for stuttering. Eagle Five was still looking frightened at how close the kunai had come to Eagle One's neck. "Eagle Squad is the best... simply because we have an unspoken bond... an unspoken promise," tears leaked down her cheeks as she remembered how her caring family had been formed, in the same way so many unbreakable bonds were forged, in the fires of battle.

/

Eagle One fell heavily, his swords clattering across the ground. Eagle Four quickly jumped and caught him, his eyes lolling as he grasped the deep stab wound in his side, "Thank you Eagle Four," he whispered, coughing painfully.

"D.. Don't m.. move E.. Eagle One, I'll take you to Eagle Five," she quickly draped his arm around her shoulder and half-carried him into the clearing. She felt a kunai shred through her leg and fell as well, her cries of pain mixing with her squad leader's.

"Eagle One! Eagle Four!" Eagle Three yelled, she ran forward, her fan flashing in the air, the paper covering it had ripped a while ago and now her jutsu was useless but she was determined to save her teammates. She swung at an enemy ANBU who simply dodged it and punched her in the stomach. Eagle Three felt herself slipping unconscious from the pain and fought it, stumbling backwards into her teammates. She spread her arms and legs wide, guarding them with her body.

Eagle One's eyes grew wide as he fought his wound and struggled to stand, "No Eagle Three! Get away from here!"

Eagle Three halfway turned to him, her eyes incredulous, "What? Are you TRYING to get Shika mad at me?"

Eagle One dropped the weights off of his arms, feeling his body lighten, "Get out of here right now! That is a direct order!"

"No,"

The enemy ANBU chuckled at the sight, motioning to the rest of the ANBU behind him, "How pathetic, you're squad is weak, almost pathetically so, and your squad leader is so predictable, the Leaf truly is a weak village, with so many little baby ninja for us to kill," With a thud, Eagle Two, Six, and Seven fell onto the ground in front of them, bound and gagged, their bodies bloody and beaten. "So what will you do now little ninja?"

Eagle One stood slowly, his hands clenching, "I surrender..." he said softly, he was willing to give his life, but not the lives of his friends. "Take me and let them go, I hold all intelligence on our mission and even some of Konoha's defenses," his squad looked at him, their eyes wide, "If you let my squad leave and do not pursue them... I.. I will go with you willingly..."

"No Eagle One!" Eagle Four screamed, "You can't just give up like this!"

Eagle One turned to her, a defeated, dead, and broken look in his eyes, "This is my fault," he felt tears prickle in his eyes and fought to keep them in, "All my fault, all of it... I will not have you suffering for my stupid stupid mistakes," turning back to the enemy ANBU leader he sheathed his swords again, taking off his mask and throwing it heavily on the ground, "All I want to see is them leaving safely and in good health and I will come with you. Do we have a deal?"

The enemy ANBU captain gaped openly, an ANBU captain would never surrender himself, maybe another member of his squad, but certainly not himself. "A deal?" he chuckled, "A deal we have indeed,"

The enemy ANBU quickly untied his squadmates, they glared at him, their eyes haunted, "Maybe next time you will have a competent leader," Lee whispered, walking toward the awaiting enemy force. He turned, his eyes downcast, "Please apologize to Sakura-chan for me, I will most likely not be returning home,"

Eagle Two quickly rubbed the circulation back into her limbs, running at Lee, "YOU COWARD!" she screamed as she hit him repeatedly. She saw the hurt on his face but continued her assault, "You damn coward!" she sobbed, punching her long-time friend, he just took the blow, smiling sadly. "If you really want to die that badly I'll do it for you!" she ranted.

Lee quickly pushed her away, "Eagle Two... no... let me do this.. I must,"

"BULLSHIT!" Eagle Seven yelled, his eyes wild, "YOU DON'T HAVE TO SACRIFICE YOURSELF! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DIE FOR NOTHING! YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE STUPID!" he too ran forward, shaking Lee quickly, "Fight damn you! You're not like this!"

Lee looked at his squad, they were his best friends, and for them, he would die with a smile, "I am honored to have known you," he said simply, shrugging Eagle Seven off and continuing to walk to the enemy, his hands clenching resolutely. He would destroy his life, his hopes, his dreams, and his reputation for his friends', and he would never even regret it.

Eagle Two threw her mask off resolutely, "Take me instead!" Tenten screamed, "I'm better with weapons, and I can even forge weapons for you! They'll be the best! You don't even need him! He'll just get in the way!" she screamed desperately. The enemy ANBU squad and Eagle One just stared at her blankly, "Take me instead!" she screamed again.

"Tenten... don't do this..."

Eagle Seven also threw his mask down, cracking it, "Screw them! Take me instead! I'm a great tracker, I can hunt and kill with the best of them! Don't pay attention to the scrawny girl or the stupid thickbrowed coward!" Tenten and Lee stared at him, their expression showing pure astonishment. "Take me instead of them! It'll be better for you!"

"Kiba-san..."

"Kiba! No! Do not do that!"

Eagle Four glanced at her friends, resolutely standing there and made her decision, she quickly reached up and threw her mask down as well, "No! Leave them and take me! I am the heir to the Hyuuga Clan! I have one of the most powerful bloodlimits and the strongest taijutsu style in Konoha!"

Eagle Three smiled, "Aw hell," she threw her mask down as well, grinning triumphantly, "No in truth you should take me, I'm not one of these Leaf weaklings, in truth I'm from Suna, so you should take me!"

Lee turned to all of them anger and desperation burning in his eyes, "What are you doing?" he demanded, "Get out of here while you still have the chance!"

Hinata looked resolute and determined, a huge change from the usually awkward and embarrassed girl with low self-esteem, "No Lee-san, we will not leave you,"

"WHY?"

"Because you wouldn't leave us," Tenten said softly, "Because we're friends... because we care about you... because we're a family..."

Hinata smiled, silent tears dripping from her eyes, "Ever since we were put in this squad together we've become a family... and I won't let it be broken up,"

"I won't either!"

"I guess not, I'm getting kinda attached to you annoying Leaf-nins,"

"I definitely wouldn't"

Lee smiled, reaching for his swords and glaring the enemy ANBU captain directly in the eye, "Nor would I..." he whispered, he quickly opened his fifth gate, running forward and impaling the enemy ANBU captain, the captain wide-eyed with surprise, "Squad Eagle! Attack!" he yelled.

/

"It changes you from a team... to a family," Eagle Four added quietly.

Eagle One smiled, remembering it as well. "The Family of the Eagle will be formed once more!"

Eagle Six snickered, "The Family of the Eagle? That's such a lame name!" He quivered as suddenly all of the veteran ANBU in the area glared at him, menace pouring from their eyes, "I.. I mean.. cool... why do you call yourselves that..?"

Eagle One lifted his sleeve, showing a small tattoo burned into the side of his right shoulder, "This is why," all of the other ANBU lifted their sleeves, even Eagle Four, and showed similar tattoos. "We may be separated, by death or time or space, but these will always remain, just like we will always be a family and a team,"

Eagle Six took a closer look at the tattoo, it was an eagle directly over the kanji for eagle and it was holding a kunai in one talon and a katana in the other. "I guess that's pretty cool. So when do I get one?"

Eagle Seven shook his head, "Not until you start acting like a damn team member," he growled. Eagle Six was about to start arguing with him again when Eagle Five stepped in quickly, silencing him, Eagle One nodded and stood up, he made various hand signals and after quickly explaining them to Eagle Five and Six the ANBU squad left, heading toward their objective, their movements swift as their namesakes.  
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Notes: Well here's the third chapter of my completely ignored story! Yay! (silence) Yeah yeah whatever. lol  
Read and Review! Thanks to my one and only reviewer Grimmylocks! That review really gave me the strength to write this chapter, even if it's  
completely ignored. Bleh, don't care. Writing is fun! Rambling!

This chapter is dedicated to you Grimmylocks for encouraging me when I was really disappointed that this story was so completely and totally ignored.  
W00T you're the best. My true reviewer army of one. (lol)


	4. Chapter Three: The Snake is Crushed

Eagle One

Chapter Three: The Snake is Crushed

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.  
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Several hours later the column stopped, Eagle Five and Six looking tired while the veteran ANBU barely looked winded. Eagle One nodded toward them, "Do not worry!" he said optimistically, "We were much worse with endurance when we begun our ANBU duties! It is not something to be ashamed over!"

Eagle Six looked grumpy, his robe was sweaty and he was tired, "Yeah yeah, whatever thick-brows,"

Eagle Two shot him another glare and was about to say something when Eagle One interrupted quickly, apparently trying to stop the conflict before it could get out of hand, "Eagle Two, Three, Seven, and Four, branch out in different directions and search the surrounding areas for enemy ninja, search out to about two hundred meters and return, Eagle Six set up traps on three sides but leave one side open for us to escape from, pick the direction that is the worst to approach from. Eagle Five begin to prepare medication and early treatment options for the rest of the team, we will need it when we get into some heavy combat," he waited until everyone signaled that they understood, "You know your assignments, go do them," he ordered. They all whipped off into the trees in their own directions and he sat down heavily. He removed the torso piece of his armor and began to shakily treat the wound. He worked for a few minutes, eventually becoming annoyed and throwing the gauze bandage he was using on the ground, he sighed and pulled another out of his pack, cursing himself for wasting valuable supplies and haphazardly wrapped it around his stomach, it would either help or not. He quickly reattached his armor and stood up, he quickly set up and took account of all their supplies, especially noting the large stockpile of explosive tags that Eagle Two had brought.

Eagle Six quickly jumped into the clearing, "I set all of the traps,"

Eagle One smiled, "Excellent work Eagle Six, relax for now and when everyone returns we will begin our teamwork exercises,"

Eagle Six looked down, his eyes troubled, "Lee-s... I mean, captain, would it be okay if I don't do the teamwork exercises?"

"Why?"

"I have secrets I can't tell anyone," Eagle Six said seriously. Eagle One blinked in surprise, he had never seen Eagle Six so serious before, it reminded him of how Eagle Six had looked during the Chunin Selection Exams, so very long ago.

Eagle One nodded knowing what his friend was talking about, "Kyuubi?" he asked quietly.

Eagle Six's eyes grew wide, "W.. What? H.. How do you know about Kyuubi?" he stammered quickly.

Eagle One shrugged, "Remember Eagle Six, I may not be as brilliant as Commander Nara but I am an ANBU captain after all. I am not a complete idiot. Some of the others managed to figure it out before me as well,"

Eagle Six felt his breath catch at Eagle One's last statement, "Others? L.. Like who?"

Eagle One opened his mouth to answer when Eagle Five burst out of the trees, she had heard the first part of the conversation and panicked, "Oh Lee-san, well... you see... Naruto is just really shy about himself and you shouldn't force him to explain himself to everyone,"

Eagle One sighed, "I know about the Kyuubi, Eagle Five," he said. Eagle Five just stared at him oddly, her eyes repeatedly shifting over to Eagle Six, "I am correct in assuming you do as well Eagle Five?"

Eagle Five glanced at Eagle Six again, he looked stunned, he nodded to her and she decided to answer truthfully, "Yes..."

Eagle One nodded, "I assumed as much," he looked back at Eagle Six, "I will not force you to inform our teammates of the Kyuubi but in truth you should, it is valuable information that one day could be used against us and our squadmates."

Eagle Six quickly turned, his eyes searching for the sound he had heard behind him, Eagle Two, Three, Four, and Seven all dropped down from the trees silently. Eagle Two giving a swift salute, "No enemies present sir,"

Eagle One saluted back, grinning under his mask, "Then take an hour to rest and relax and we will begin our training then," He stood as his squad dispersed among the trees and made his rounds, checking to see if all of his squad was okay, seeing how many kunai they had, seeing if they were injured, he finally finished his rounds, his stomach still throbbing horribly, and went to check the traps Eagle Six had set, he was surprised at first, being unable to find any, but then almost ran straight into one, he would have to commend him for excellent concealment of traps. He then walked back to the main camp where the rest of his squad was playing some kind of card game, he grinned as Eagle Seven caught Eagle Six cheating and a friendly wrestling match erupted. Eagle Seven eventually won by threatening Eagle Six that he would tell Eagle Seven B to jump on him. Eagle One quickly sat under the shade of the tree, he soon felt the allure of sleep and fell asleep quickly.

Eagle One POV:  
Wow, Sakura-chan was beautiful as she spun around in her vividly green kimono, he lifted her up and spun her again, loving the tinkling of her laughter. She drew close to him and he hugged her tightly, she hugged him back. Her eyes twinkled and she leaned in close to him, "Murderer," she whispered into his ear. Lee quickly pushed away from her in shock, falling backwards but finding no respite from the stares that surrounded him.

"Someone isn't coming home because of you, someone's loved one is never coming home, BECAUSE OF YOU!" Sakura whispered, her face becoming twisted and demonic. Lee screamed in anguish and fear and tried to run, but the crowd was unrelenting, they pushed him back to the center of the circle, a bright light seeming to be on him.

"Murderer," another voice accused him from behind, Lee turned in shock to find his sensei, Maito Gai, "What's wrong Lee? Afraid of what you've become? Afraid of the true blackness of your heart?"

"Murderer," Sakura said again, her green eyes boring into him painfully, striking his heart directly, "What do you have to say for yourself? What excuse can you possibly give to justify the killings of other human beings? People just like you?"

Lee backed up, the crowd screaming at him, screaming for his blood, "But they were my enemies! I had to kill them! I had to! Why can you not understand?"

Sakura laughed, a harsh sound that caused Lee to shudder, "Then you should have died you scum, died before you killed another human being. You think they don't have families? You think you're the only one in the known world with friends? You're just using that as an excuse! You're just a damn black-hearted murderer at heart!" She strode up to him, slapping him across the face, "That's why I'll never love you! That's why no one will ever love you!"

"B.. But as long as y.. you are happy I am happy Sakura-chan..." he said, his mind grasping desperately for some sense of normality.

Sakura laughed again, "You lie," she growled, "You say that, but do you truly mean it? In truth, if I rejected you forever for my own happiness, you'd hate me, right? You'd hate me and curse me to my face right? You're a selfish bastard!"

Gai turned to his student, pointing at him accusatively, "Never let me see your face again! I never meant to raise a murderer! They may have been your enemies but that gives you no excuse! The Lotus may bloom twice but it refuses to even open once for one such as you with a black heart that has become locked in stone!"

Sasuke appeared out of the crowd, his Sharingan eyes glaring down at him with disdain, "You do realize that Sakura will never return your feeling don't you? You realize that all of your attempts are incredibly futile right? People like you don't deserve to live, people like you only burden the better people in the world. You can't trust anyone, they'll all leave you in the end. You know this is true. Your sins are far too heavy for you to resolve, far far too heavy. You have lived as a murderer, now die as a coward!"

Lee trembled as suddenly Sasuke, Gai, and Sakura all combined into one form, he found himself looking at himself. The other him was wearing full ANBU armor, dripping blood, his swords already drawn, "See what you are deep inside?" Eagle One said, "See what a murderer you are? See how black and wretched your life is?" Eagle One jumped forward, impaling Lee on the blade of his sword, twisting it painfully. "Now die, and know that you have failed," Eagle One swung his sword at Lee's head and Lee closed his eyes.

Mixed POV:  
"Eagle One! Eagle One!" Eagle Two yelled, shaking her screaming squad leader. They had been sitting relatively quietly, listening to funny stories of each other's genin teams when Eagle One had suddenly started screaming and tearing at his body with his hands, leaving bloody gashes. At first they had thought it was a genjutsu but Eagle Four and Seven had assured them that no enemy ninja were present. Eagle Two slapped him but he continued to scream, curling into a ball.

"Lee-san!" Eagle Five screamed, she rushed over to him and checked him for some kind of poison or some illness, finding none she shook him as well, unsure of why he was in pain.

It was getting worse, Eagle One was now reaching for the sword slung around his waist, desperately trying to stab himself in his sleep. Eagle Three strode up, enough was enough, she drew a kunai and jabbing it a tiny bit into his leg, gave it a twist, waking him up immediately.

Eagle One woke, feeling himself open his eyes, he looked around, seeing his squad, his mind immediately snapping into focus, "Report!" he yelled, sure that they were under attack or something.

"Report?" Eagle Two yelled, shaking him with anger, "Here's a damn report! You were screaming in your sleep and you even tried to hurt yourself, WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?"

Eagle One looked away, both embarrassed and severely disturbed by his dream, "Nothing is wrong, Eagle Two, I just... just had a bad dream... that is all,"

Eagle Three snorted, "A bad dream? Well who else here guessed that it was a bad dream? I kinda assumed that myself,"

"Damn it Lee-san! You're so stupid!" Eagle Five yelled as she healed the scratches he had inflicted on himself. She quickly realized that the kunai wounds from earlier had yet to be healed and pulled back the bandage he had quickly and sloppily wrapped around his stomach.  
She pulled them off and felt her eyes widen, the wound was deep and looked painful, the displaced parts of his skin sticking to the bandage in a bloody mess, "You should have asked me to heal you earlier Lee-san, I'm no help unless I do that," she said, smiling.

Eagle One pulled away from her in a panic, his dream causing him to fear everyone and everything he had held dear before, "I am perfectly fine Eagle Five, conserve your chakra for others," he said. His trembling hand reached for his canteen and he took a long drink from it, calming himself slightly, "Shall we begin the teamwork drills now?"

Eagle Two stared at him, "Are you sure you're in a condition to do that?"

"That is irrelevant,"

"M.. Maybe you should rest for a little while longer Eagle One.." Eagle Four said softly.

Eagle One stood up, his legs shaking, "No, we need to work on our teamwork immediately," he pulled a small set of blunted kunai out of his rucksack, "I know everyone who was on this team before knows how this works but I will explain again for those who have not been on this team and to refresh those of you that have. You will be paired with one other person, one person will be blindfolded, while the other is deafened, your mission will be to hit me with the one kunai you are given while dodging or blocking the others," he looked around, quickly pairing them up in his mind, "First pair is Eagle Two and Eagle Seven, then Eagle Four and Six, then Eagle Three and Five," they nodded and moved together into their respective pairings, and he quickly prepared them for the training and stepped away, quickly jumping into the trees.

"Um... how are we supposed to communicate?" Eagle Six yelled.

"Just improvise Eagle Six!" Eagle Two yelled. She and Eagle Seven had been paired up during this training before and knew exactly how to work together. Eagle Seven quickly touched her left shoulder and they both jumped away to the left, leaving a very confused Eagle Five and Six.

"Hinata-san? I don't know how this is supposed to work..." Eagle Six mentally kicked himself when she didn't answer. Of course she wouldn't answer, she couldn't hear him.

"E.. Eagle Six... we should move forward..." she said quietly, Eagle Six didn't really want to walk anywhere, he couldn't see where he would be going. He suddenly realized the purpose of the mission, it was a trust exercise. He was still a little tentative but he nodded and walked in the direction she pushed him.

Eagle Three shrugged, clearly asking Eagle Five for instructions. Eagle Five looked around, her green eyes searching the undergrowth and she pushed Eagle Three in the correct direction. She drew the kunai, aiming at a shadow when suddenly Eagle Three pushed her down, barely avoiding a blunted kunai. Eagle Five blinked, she hadn't even noticed it coming toward them, she helped Eagle Three stand back up and they went back to the work at hand.

"Damn it," Eagle Seven muttered, they had almost been right on top of Eagle One but he had quickly disappeared again. He leaned close to Eagle Two and put a hand on her head so he could feel her response, "Can you hear anything?" he said loudly. She shook her head and he sniffed the air, neither achieving results. Eagle Seven sighed and after poking Eagle Two to inform her of where to go, jumped away into the trees.

Eagle Six cursed as he tripped over a tree root, this stupid exercise was hard. He suddenly felt a warm arm around his shoulders keeping him from falling and realized that Eagle Four must have caught him. He smiled, though he didn't know it, and accepted her help up, he almost shouted his thanks but remembered that Eagle Four was deafened for the exercise. He hugged her tightly instead and Eagle Four felt her heart melting with joy, Eagle Six felt the heat of her blush and Eagle Four was glad he couldn't see her face, it was incredibly red, the heat of the blush even passing through the mask she was wearing. She timidly hugged him back and was surprised when she felt him blush as well. "W.. W.. We should.. continue t.. to m.. move Eagle S.. Six," she said softly. She saw him nod and pushed him behind a tree, checking the area ahead with her Byakugan, "E.. Eagle One is about f.. fifteen meters in front of us I don't know if he knows we're here or not..."

Eagle Six frowned, thinking deeply, "I think I have an idea,"

Eagle One slowly walked down the path, his mind still buzzing from earlier. He was so distracted he almost walked directly into Eagle Six's Kage Bushin, he quickly jumped to the side, destroying the Bushin with a simple kick to the back. It poofed and several more Bushins jumped through the smoke created by the first Bushin's destruction. "U!" a Bushin hit him backward, but he blocked it fairly well, "Zu!" he dodged under that blow as well but was hit by the rest simply from the number of attacks they were raining on him, "Ma, Ki!" Eagle One smiled, this was a copy of a copy of one of his old taijutsu forms, it wouldn't work on him. He spun in the air, becoming parallel with the ground and looking up expectantly, Eagle Six did not disappoint, "Naruto Rendan!"

Eagle One simply reached up, snatching Eagle Six out of the air and tossing him aside. He quickly dropped, his legs straining from his weights and quickly destroyed the Bushins that Eagle Six had created. Eagle One nodded at Eagle Six who was slowly picking himself up, "Eagle Six, that was a good strategy but you used my specialty against me, you cannot make mistakes like that in the field, it will get you killed." Suddenly he heard running behind him and turned, another Bushin was charging at him. Eagle One sighed, Eagle Six's tactics were getting incredibly stale now, he simply threw a blunted kunai at the Bushin and turned around, keeping his eyes on Eagle Six. He was completely caught off guard for what happened next. He was watching Eagle Six struggle back up so intently he didn't realize that there had been no popping sound or cloud of smoke. His eyes grew wide as he suddenly felt a hand around his neck and a kunai plunging toward him. He understood now, Eagle Six had used Kage Bushin so many times that he would immediately write off Eagle Four as another Bushin, Eagle Four had in the meanwhile used Henge no Jutsu and snuck behind him. He used his legendary speed to quickly reach for another blunted kunai and he spun it in his hand, spinning it to face the direction Eagle Four was in, he felt the kunai hover at his throat and smiled, "Nice strategy Eagle Six, Eagle Four, congratulations, you win this exercise," he saw Eagle Six swell with joy, possibly about to start yelling again and decided to end the conversation quickly, he quickly pulled the earplugs out of Eagle Four's ears so she could hear him as well, "But, it would have been a bad tactical decision in combat,"

"Why?" Eagle Six yelled, outraged, they had just won after all.

"Look at where my kunai is pointed," Eagle Six ripped off the blindfold and gaped while Eagle Four simply looked down, an astonished look crossing her face. Eagle One had spun the kunai around so it was hovering fairly near Eagle Four's heart, it was obvious that if he had moved it slightly further she would have practically run into it.

Eagle Four's eyes grew wide, she had tried so hard to show her love that she wasn't useless that she had completely disregarded all of her training, she felt horrible. She dropped to her knees, her kunai and armor clanking loudly, "I... I'm so s.. sorry Nar.. Eagle Six.." she said softly, her eyes watering, "I t.. tried I really did,"

Eagle One looked down at her kindly, "Do not worry Eagle Four, you did perfectly, most of the people we will be against will not be as fast as I am and you were slowed down in your hesitation to attack me since I was a teammate, you did just fine, you think so as well, right Eagle Six?"

Eagle Six nodded, standing up and helping the smaller girl up, "It's okay Hinata-chan, stop crying... you did really well," he knelt near, her eyes became wide as she realized that Eagle Six indeed didn't hate her for what in her mind was a failure.

Eagle One smiled under his mask, happy to see Eagle Four so happy and walked away, "Good job! Head back to camp and rest until everyone else finishes,"

Eagle Seven sniffed the air quickly, "He's coming," he said. Eagle Two nodded, pulling out their blunted kunai, "He's coming in at our zero nine four degrees, one hundred meters away and closing, about one foot of decline," Eagle Two nodded again and mentally began her throw, her arm completely relaxing, her target in her mind's eye, she let the kunai fly, it slip the air like lightning and whizzed at an unsuspecting Eagle One.

Eagle One was walking through the forest, not very stealthily, so the rest of his squad could eventually find him and attack him. He heard a faint whistling and turned, seeing the flash of a kunai, he quickly jumped away but the kunai still hit him on the leg. He smiled, "Okay, Eagle Two and Seven, you win, get out of here," he blinked as he heard another kunai and blocked it with his arm, he grimaced as it hit him, they were blunted but they still hurt. "Eagle Five and Three, same with you," he smiled, he hadn't known that they were that close to him.

He heard rustling behind him and Eagle Five and Three popped out, both of them shaking with laughter, "We were actually just hiding in there planning, but then you just walked up on us!" Eagle One smiled, congratulating them and walking back to the camp, Eagle Five and Three following him, still giggling.

Eagle One glanced at the shadows that were creeping along further and further along the ground, it was getting late. They didn't have time for any other exercises, they had arrived too late at the base site and couldn't do much in case they alerted their enemies to their presence. "Okay squad, we can not really do any more, get ready to take posts and guard and maintain full noise and light discipline,"

Eagle Six's eye twitched, "What?" Eagle Four leaned next to him and whispered into his ear, his eyes twitched again and he nodded, "Why didn't you say that before?" Eagle One just stared at him for a few seconds before walking away.

"What about other teamwork exercises?" Eagle Two called, "I'm not sure just one's going to cut it!"

"I know what you mean," Eagle One muttered, "But if we continue training in an unsecured area we run risks of both the Akatsuki and Orochimaru learning our position. We arrived here much too late."

Eagle Two nodded, walking off and began to check her equipment, checking the seal on each scroll.

Eagle Six smiled, fingering the oddly shaped kunai in his kunai holster. This time he wouldn't be too late. He would have to break his promise with Ero-Sennin, but he really didn't care.

Eagle One stretched out, his body still stiff from the previous day, he was shocked as he realized, his last action with ANBU had been just yesterday, same with the rest of his team, it seemed so far away. He felt a sting of pain in his arm and remembered that he had snapped it earlier that morning, he really felt like cursing again, nothing was going correctly. His mind was screaming with the stress of it all, but he quickly cleared it, breathing deeply. "Contact with enemies in less than two hours, everyone get some rest, I will take guard duty, I will awaken you when they appear," his team stared at him and continued to do whatever they were doing before. He pulled at his hair in irritation and sat down, tired but afraid to go back to sleep, the recurring nightmare menacing him even as his own fatigue slowly killed him inside. He stood and walked away from his squad, his squadmates staring at him oddly and sat next to the river, letting the water calm him down. He eventually stood back up and returned to his squad, most of them were sleeping, and some were still preparing their equipment.

Eagle Two walked up to her squad leader, her brown eyes resolute, "So what's wrong Eagle One?" she asked softly.

Eagle One jumped, not having heard her approaching, "Oh... nothing Eagle Two, you should get some rest..."

"...So absolutely nothing's wrong but you're still moping around? Since when do you do that?" she demanded. "You always keep it together, even on the most difficult of missions! What is your problem this time? Is it because you're afraid Eagle Five is going to be injured?"

Eagle One looked away, "No.. I am just afraid the mission will fail, that is all."

"Since when have you ever cared about missions?" she demanded again, "You always told us that you care more about our squad then any damn mission, you even proved it with your actions, so I know that's not it! So what is it?" she quickly looked around, making sure that everyone else was asleep, and pulled down her mask, "So tell me what's wrong. Not as Eagle One to Eagle Two, ANBU squadmates, but as Rock Lee and Tenten, friends."

"Tenten, there really is nothing wrong, I am just tired, I have had some trouble sleeping," he said, and immediately realized that it was the wrong thing to say.

Tenten's squinted at her friend critically, "And why have you had problems sleeping?"

"Dreams,"

"And what about them?"

"They disturb me, that is all you need to know..." Tenten gave an exasperated sigh and stalked away, pulling the mask back over her face. Eagle Two gave him one last glare and lay on the ground, staring at the sky. Eagle One sat against a tree, his black eyes sweeping the areas before him, noting the swaying of trees and the moving of grass, making sure nothing could get past him, not even using a genjutsu.

Eagle Six woke to the sounds of steel clashing.

He stood, quickly, kicking off the camouflage blanket someone had draped over him, quickly taking cover behind a tree and drawing chakra into his hand. He looked around the tree he was hiding behind and saw Eagle One deflect another kunai. He was about to charge forward when he felt a chakra signature behind him, he turned quickly and was about to hit the person when he realized it was Eagle Four, "Hey Hinata-san," he whispered.

Eagle Four quickly shook her head, silencing him and pointed at a red light several hundred meters away, "W.. We're supposed to m.. meet back up over there..." Eagle Six shot another look at Eagle One who was holding his ground resolutely and deflecting kunai and jumped up, motioning Eagle Four to follow him. They quickly and quietly moved to the light which turned out to be Eagle Two's signal flares, and met up with the rest of their squad.

"Where's Eagle One?" Eagle Two snapped.

"He said he'd distract the enemy from your positions," Eagle Five said quietly.

"HE SAID WHAT?" Eagle Two, Three, Four and Seven yelled.

"Damn it he's gone too far!" Eagle Two yelled, "I don't care how much he wants us to get through this damn mission alive, he's not going to die because he's too damn stubborn to let us do our job!" Eagle Two pulled out several weapons scrolls, unrolling them and retrieving the spheres that popped from them, "Here, we'll separate into two teams, Team A will go extract Eagle One, Team B will head to objective point B and capture Uchiha Sasuke. Team A consists of myself and Eagle Three, everyone else is on Team B, here take these, they're smoke and flash bombs, just press the small button on them and throw them, three second time delay, GO!" she nodded to Eagle Three and they jumped away quickly.

"I guess I'm leader of this little expedition," Eagle Seven muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

"When hell freezes over dog boy!" Eagle Six yelled, "Hinata-chan is higher up than you on the chain of command!"

"E.. Eagle Six..." Eagle Four said softly, "I.. I'm not such a good leader... a.. and I.."

"Don't just take that crap Hinata-chan!" Eagle Six yelled.

Eagle Four nodded, she pushed her fear into the deepest part of her mind and took a deep breath, "I am taking tactical command Eagle Seven," She quickly activated her Byakugan, accessing the situation, "There are four strong chakra signals about four hundred meters in front of us, opponents are Uchiha Itachi, and Hoshigaki Kisame of the Akatsuki and, Uchiha Sasuke, and Orochimaru of the Village of Sound. We will move on the four and each one of us will engage one enemy, we will not be attempting to do much more than stall them while Eagle Five attempts to convince Uchiha Sasuke to rejoin us, remember, they are all S-ranked criminals, be careful," she nodded and quickly jumped away, still blushing heavily. Eagle Six running after her, smiling.

Sasuke stared at the figure in the black cloak in front of him, "YOU!" he yelled, activating his Sharingan, he took a deep breath and released several fireballs at his former brother, loosing the Kusanagi from its sheath, he ran forward, all thoughts of strategy abandoning him.

Orochimaru quickly reached out and grabbed the enraged Uchiha, "You promised me you would not do this," he hissed, "Remember your mission, when Konoha falls, you will have your power..."

Sasuke slowly resheathed his sword, "So you say..." he muttered. Itachi gazed at him coolly, having already deflected the fireballs Sasuke had sent toward him. His smile made him want to crush him into tiny pieces for all of the pain he had caused him, and when Orochimaru gave him that power, that's exactly what he was going to do. He smirked and turned as he heard a noise he had heard countless times before, an annoyed grunt and the clattering sound of someone falling off of a high place followed by cursing, "So dobe, trying to bring me back yet again?"

Sasuke smiled as he heard the usual growling, "Damn it teme! You're coming back with us!" He leapt forward throwing several kunai at everyone in the clearing. All of the kunai were deflected though none of the combatants actually moved, Eagle Six growled and threw himself at Orochimaru. Eagle Seven quickly burst out of a nearby bush, his Jujin Bushin already activated. He flung himself on Itachi who simply ducked under his attack and hit him with a kunai, basically playing with him. Eagle Four rolled out from her cover and jumped at Kisame, blocking his Samehada with a quick burst of chakra from her arm, she flipped over another strike from the sword and stabbed at a tenketsu in his left arm, but had to dodge aside at the last second to avoid being impaled on his sword.

Eagle Five burst out of the underbrush, drawing chakra to her arms. "Sasuke-kun!" she yelled, "Come back to Konoha with us! Trust me! We can get Tsunade-sama to pardon you and we can be a team again! Wouldn't that be great?" Her eyes pleaded with him, begging him to accept, to return to them.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he sent a lazy fireball toward her which she dodged easily. "Again Sakura? Why is Konoha so desperate to get me back? Or is this a personal affair?" he chuckled slightly, "And who's the idiot who made you an ANBU? Is Konoha that seriously understaffed?"

"Sasuke-kun! Please!"

Eagle Five jumped to the side, dodging a fireball again, but she was too distracted and didn't manage to see the second one in time, her eyes widened.

Eagle One jumped in front of the fireball, slicing through it with his swords, his eyes meeting Sasuke's, black on black, "Am I too late?"

Sasuke's smirk got more irritated, if that was even possible, "So even weaklings can achieve the rank of captain now? You're not even worth my time,"

Eagle One stared at him for a few seconds, his old self flaring and screaming at him to go and attack the person who had just insulted his nindo, but his new self-discipline took over and he turned to Kisame who was busily trying to gut a bravely fighting Eagle Four, "This is not my fight," he said his eyes angry, "But you should listen to Eagle Five's words... or I will force you to listen..." he jumped at Kisame, blocking the Samehada with his dual swords and quickly sweeping his leg under him to knock him off balance. Kisame shot backward, avoiding Eagle One's attack but fell directly into Eagle Four's attack.. He felt several tenketsu on his right arm close and staggered away, only to be hit from behind by what felt like a bomb. Eagle Two grinned and quickly wiped her blood over another scroll and summoned more bombs. Kisame started to form seals with his free hand when suddenly he felt himself being flung into the air, "Raishin Rendan!" Eagle One yelled. Eagle Two, Four , and Three nodded, Eagle Two slammed her hand into the ground and summoned twenty kunai that flew to lodge into vital points in Kisame's body. Eagle Four quickly used a Kage Buyo to appear behind her enemy and stab multiple tenketsu, hitting every major tenketsu and slamming her palm into his chest, spreading chakra into his internal organs. Eagle Three then whipped her fan toward him several times and a very badly injured Kisame was once again lifted into the air, Kisame received several more kunai and Eagle One ended it with a Goriki Senpu, pummeling Kisame back into the ground. The shark lay still.

Eagle Two fell back into her stance, glancing around at the other enemies in the area, "Is he down?"

Eagle Four shakily activated her bloodlimit and saw that the chakra flow in Kisame's body was stopped completely, "We got him..." she said softly.

They were interrupted by Eagle Seven A and B being sent flying by another fire technique, both disappearing under a cloud of smoke and reappearing normally as an explosion rocked the area behind them where Eagle Six and Orochimaru were fighting. Eagle One cursed himself for not thinking ahead and quickly sent Eagle Four and Three to help him. Eagle Two he ordered to help the badly wounded Eagle Seven. He was now fighting the most powerful ninja in the area... alone. Sometimes he hated the whole damn job. He looked down at the ground as his old sensei had taught him, in order not to be caught in a genjutsu, Gai-sensei had taught him the dynamics of the form earlier but he had never really used it before. This was ridiculous, how was he supposed to tell what his opponent was going to do when he was staring at his feet.

Eagle Six grinned, the whiskers on the side of his face starting to deepen, unknown to all. He lunged at Orochimaru again, dodging under his attack and striking him upward, he was about to follow up his attack with a swift kick when snakes suddenly burst from Orochimaru's wrists. He quickly spun chakra in his hands, backflipping away from them. "Rasengan!" he yelled, flinging the bluish sphere of energy at the snakes, cutting them into several pieces. His eyes widened as he recognized the form that Orochimaru was using. A large snake appeared, and Eagle Six smirked, it was powerful, but it wasn't Manda, he too bit his thumb and slammed it onto the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Gama!" he yelled. His years of training alone in Konoha when he had been almost imprisoned there by the now defunct Council of Elders had paid off after all, he was able to summon more specifically, letting just enough chakra be pulled from his body to summon an appropriate sized frog. A frog roughly the same size as the snake Orochimaru had summoned quickly appeared, looking disoriented, "Keep that snake off me while I kill the other one!" he yelled.

The Gama gave an amused grin, "Which snake, the ugly one crawling or the uglier one that's walking on two legs?"

Eagle Six chuckled and ran at Orochimaru, jumping over another barrage of snakes. He launched several punches at the Snake Sannin but had to jump away as he used a Futon:Daitoppa, blasting almost fifty feet around them into rubble. Eagle Six increased his speed but the wind was catching up to him. He cursed as he felt himself tripping, having ran faster than he could keep up with, when he heard a familiar voice, "Daikamaitachi no Jutsu!" Eagle Three yelled, the steel of her fan flashing in the air menacingly. Her wave of air and Orochimaru's clashed and both disappeared, the shockwave knocking Eagle Six back into Eagle Four.

"Naruto-kun!" she squeaked, completely disregarding protocol, "A.. Are you o.. okay?"

"I'm fine," he said as he picked himself back up. He turned, his mind working quickly, "Hinata-chan! You remember the teamwork drill right:

"Y.. Yes.." she blushed as she remembered the hug but quickly composed herself again, this wasn't the time to be thinking about things like that, she chided herself.

"Good," Eagle Six muttered, arranging his hands into his favorite seal, "Taju Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" he yelled. Suddenly, the entire area was filled with pushing and milling Eagle Six Bushins. He felt a slight pang of regret that he had to use so much chakra but dispelled all of his Bushins at once. Thick white smoke filled the clearing and suddenly Eagle Four was the only one who could see. "Go Hinata-chan!" he yelled.

Eagle Four propelled herself forward, encouraged by her idol's words and empowered by the knowledge that now she was at a large advantage. Her bloodlimit was activated, outlining bluish shapes in the smoke. She ran at the one that resembled Orochimaru and struck. He was caught completely off guard and his left arm was completely numb before he composed himself and retreated. Eagle Four ran after the Sannin but quickly found that she was at a disadvantage in one on one combat with him, his ability to sense heat like a snake was working for him now almost as well as her Byakugan. "Blow away the smoke Eagle Three!" she yelled.

"Sure!" Eagle Three yelled, sweeping her fan and blowing the smoke away from the ground, pushing it upward and away. Eagle Four saw and felt the smoke clear and it may have been the only thing that saved her, her eyes widened as Orochimaru drew his version of the Kusanagi and extended it toward her, she leapt backward, spinning at a slight angle. She preformed a Kaiten maneuver, blocking the Kusanagi but still managing to be knocked backward incredibly far. Eagle Three ran in, her fan flashing as she sent sub-sonic blades of wind at the Sannin, he quickly dodged under them all and formed seals, "Kanashibari no Jutsu!" Eagle Three's eyes widened as she realized she couldn't move, she desperately tried to move away but to no avail, the Sannin was approaching her with a look of utter malice.

Eagle Six quickly focused chakra into both hands, creating a Rasengan in both, and slammed his hands together, creating an impromptu Oodama Rasengan. He threw it at Orochimaru who summoned a Rashomon gate to absorb the blow. The force of the Oodama Rasengan blew Orochimaru back however and Eagle Three finally managed to dispel the jutsu she had been placed in. She turned, a look of respect in her eyes, "Hey thanks Eagle Six!" she yelled, pricking her finger, "I'll return the favor! Kuchiyose: Kirikiri Mai!" a large sickle wielding weasel burst from the ground, "You know what to do," the weasel grinned maliciously and turned to Orochimaru, it jumped into the air, sending waves of air at the Snake Sannin with each spin.

Orochimaru jumped under a blade of wind, a cut appearing on his arm from the proximity of the attack. He was concentrating so hard on avoiding the bursts of air that he didn't notice the small girl drop down near him. Eagle Three smiled, Eagle Four was always one of the best with stealth, Eagle Four felt her heart pounding as she drew within arm's length of Orochimaru, she drew chakra into her hands and quickly reached for a tenketsu. Orochimaru felt a chakra signature suddenly flare next to him and realized that the smallest of the ANBU had passed straight through his guard, he rolled under her jab and thrusted upward with his palm. Eagle Four spun on her heel and dodged the open-handed strike and flipped forward, striking Orochimaru with chakra that she expelled from her heel. Orochimaru was impressed that this girl was besting him and quickly swung his sword at her neck. Eagle Four simply blocked it with a burst of chakra from her arm and stuck the tenketsu on the hand that the Snake Sannin was using to hold his sword. Orochimaru cursed as his sword clattered from his grasp, he jumped sideways, feeling another burst of chakra fly closely to his face. He saw an opening, the girl had extended her arm too far on the last strike and moved in to attack. He grabbed her arm and was about to snap it with ease when he suddenly felt a burst of chakra wrench the girl's arm from his grasp. He was confused, but not as confused as he was after several tenketsu on his left leg closed. He backed away, his leg slowly going numb and failing him, he drew more chakra into his arm and created a small chakra pulse. He slammed it into the ground, the pulse causing the rock under him to splinter and break, sending fragments around him. "Kaiten!" Eagle Four yelled as she deflected the fragments.

Orochimaru dodged the needle-sharp fragments of rock when they suddenly flew in his direction again. He jumped over them this time, his snake-like body flowing behind a tree as he tried to catch his breath. He ducked as a foot appeared near him and snatched the enemy out from his hiding place in the bush. He smiled at him triumphantly and the ANBU smiled back at him, something that the Snake Sannin hadn't anticipated. He threw the Bushin away, barely avoiding damage from the explosive note that was burning brightly on its back. Orochimaru wiped several drops of sweat from his forehead, he hadn't had a fight this intense since his battle with Jiraiya. He grimaced as he was hit in the back by a blade of wind, a large gash appearing through his robes. He flipped backward, then forward, barely avoiding several more blades of wind, he quickly jumped up onto a tree and shot several snakes at the girl with the large fan. Eagle Three quickly brought her fan up to her face, blocking the snakes but was unable to close it all the way first. With a horrible ripping sound, the paper on her fan ripped and Eagle Three jumped away. Orochimaru smiled and jumped down to the defenseless girl, "Now what little Leaf-nin?"

Eagle Three grinned right back, of course he couldn't see it, but she was, and began forming hand seals. She would really have to thank Baki-sensei for teaching her this, "Kaze no Yaiba!" she yelled. Orochimaru's eyes opened wide as suddenly a burst of air erupted from the girl's hands, propelling him backward into a waiting Eagle Six.

Eagle Six grabbed the taller man and whispered, "Guess whose attack this is?" He quickly hit Orochimaru upward, preforming a near-flawless Kage Buyo and appearing behind him, he punched him in the face and kicked Orochimaru back to the ground, "Shishi Rendan!" he yelled.

Orochimaru staggered back up, his body aching substantially now, and lunged once again at the girl who was frantically repairing her weapon. Suddenly he found himself staring into a pair of white eyes, then he felt several poking sensations but only realized what it was when he heard her yell, "Hakke! Rokujuyon Sho!" he could almost count along with her as she hit vital tenketsu in his body, two, four, sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-four.

He felt his chakra flow slow and almost completely stop, he staggered back, the resolute eyes of the three ANBU still burning into his mind, "I guess I'll fight you again later," he said lightly, using the remains of his chakra to preform a Shunshin no Jutsu and flee. Eagle Six grinned, he couldn't wait to tell Ero-Sennin that the Snake Sannin had been beaten. He looked around, an air of purpose that Yondaime would have smiled to feel flowing from him, "Is everyone okay?" he asked. Both Eagle Four and Three nodded and he smiled. The smile was quickly erased from his face as he heard Eagle Five scream his squad leader's name. Eagle Three and Four glanced at each other, both of their eyes wide and immediately took off in that direction.

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Notes: Yay! Finally I have six reviews! W00T! Please continue to review though, it's what keeps my muse from going insane. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! (takes breath) REVIEW!

... Please?

And to be completely original I'm going to answer reviews down here! (Sarcasm!)

Flameraven1: I can't say much because a lot of what you asked will be touched on later. I dunno, I guess I'm the only one who always assumed that Lee would become like a squad leader or something. It may be because he's my favorite character but I think that his dedication to his team and selflessness would definitely be something that would be ideal in a squad leader. Thanks for the review!

Syngamy: Sorry about that, I was using old-school Wordpad for the first few chapters so there's going to be a few spelling and other mistakes. I'm using OpenOffice now so hopefully those will lessen or disappear.

SapphireWhiteTigress: Thanks! I'm glad you like the story. Actually the whole "Eagle Code" thing is an idea I got from the Special Forces, they use codes so they can differentiate people in battle quickly. It's supposed to be confusing at first but I'm sure it'll catch on soon. XD I'll try not to kill anymore people. (sighs then laughs malevolently) -people stare- OR WILL I?

Romaina: OMFG THANK YOU SO MUCH! Wow, I don't deserve such lofty praise! Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like it! And I feel much better about how the vast majority seem to be not reading this! Wow... I'm so happy that you liked it that much... I'll try to update as much as I can. I'm having some trouble with my Doc. Manager and being unable to submit or upload docs... I don't know why, but as soon as I get it working... i'll get right back on it! Again, thank you so much! (I don't like Sasuke very much either > ... damn traitor)

I still don't know what's wrong with my docs. I just exported one of my old chaps and rewrote over it... I'd be happy to know wtf is going on though...


	5. Chapter Four: Susanoo and the Eighth

Eagle One

Chapter Four: Susanoo and the Eighth

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I wish I did though, if someone could contact Mr. Kishimoto about that I'd appreciate it  
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"Lee-san!" Eagle Five screamed. She ducked another fire jutsu and half-heartedly punched at Sasuke, "Lee-san are you okay?" she asked again shrilly.

Itachi's eyes narrowed as the ANBU picked himself up once again, breathing raggedly. He ducked under the ANBU's flailing arms, barely dodging a swift uppercut to the jaw. He turned, blocking the ANBU's swords with his arm, his arm guards absorbing the blow. He was getting tired of this, he pulsed chakra to his eyes and his hands, and forced the ANBU captain's head upwards using a simple jutsu. He felt a slight burning sensation in his eyes as he forced chakra out, forming his Mangekyo Sharingan. He smiled as he saw the ANBU captain's eyes fill with fear, he had apparently heard of this jutsu and how destructive it could be to the victim, "If you surrender now I can kill you quickly..." he whispered menacingly.

Eagle One tried to wrench his head away but couldn't, and he quietly accepted his fate, "Go to hell," he muttered venomously.

"Undoubtedly, but how would you like to know what a true hell is?" He dug through the squad leader's mind, searching for his deepest darkest fears and smiled, the fool was practically torturing himself, this would be easy, "There isn't much I can do to you that you aren't already doing to yourself.. Tsukiyomi!" He activated the genjutsu, and Eagle One fell to the ground, screaming and convulsing.

Eagle Two turned, her eyes fearful, "Eagle One! Eagle One!" she yelled, she quickly turned back to Sasuke and threw several more shuriken at him, he simply deflected it with his Chidori Nagashi and threw several kunai back at her. She jumped to the side, avoiding another large fireball and unrolled three scrolls onto the ground, she pumped her chakra into them and was about to activate the jutsu when Sasuke suddenly appeared behind her, deftly striking her on the back of the neck and knocking her unconscious.

Eagle Five drew back into a fighting stance, blocking another kunai of Sasuke's with a kunai of her own. She felt his chakra expand and twisted around, barely blocking another punch, her arms aching from the blow. She dodged under a kick and spun backward, the Kusanagi sword coming so close to her head it cut off several strands of her pink hair."Sasuke!" she yelled, trying to reason with him, he just stabbed at her again and Eagle Five jumped to the side, the sword grazing her side. She suddenly felt her body going numb and fell to her knees, the Chidori Nagashi numbing her entire body. She quickly rolled, the sword stabbing where she was mere seconds ago. She quickly spun left, the Kusanagi once again landing where she had been only seconds ago. She quickly realized that he was playing with her and quickly created three Bushins, letting them run in and attack Sasuke. He didn't even move, knowing that Eagle Five wouldn't attack him directly, the Bushins simply going through him and popping. "Sasuke-kun! This isn't like you!" she yelled, desperately reaching for the last shreds of his humanity. "Why are you doing this?"

Sasuke just smirked at her, dodging a fireball that came ominously close to his head. He looked up, his Sharingan and Itachi's Sharingan meeting, Sasuke's glare was full of menace while Itachi simply looked bored. "Damn it Itachi! I'll kill you this time!" he yelled, quickly forming several handseals. He molded his chakra and formed a Chidori, Itachi simply glanced at the ball of pulsing bluish-white chakra, not even phased, and shot several ball of fire at him that quickly changed into the form of a dragon. Sasuke jumped backward, launching his Chidori and destroying all of the fire dragons. Sasuke ran forward, his sword flashing in the air quickly, his brother dodged under it, slamming his hand into his younger sibling's chest, Sasuke was expecting it however and blocked it with his free hand. He grabbed the arm that Itachi had used to attack him and pulled Itachi into him, striking with his sword, Itachi swung his other hand upward, blocking with his arm gauntlet. Itachi quickly slipped his arm out of Sasuke's grip and pulled out a kunai, blocking the Kusanagi expertly, he quickly backed up, dodging another fire jutsu from Sasuke and spun away from him, striking him on the hip and causing Sasuke to stumble backward. Sasuke spun around, sweeping his sword to deflect the kunai Itachi had thrown and jumped forward, dodging under Itachi's block and slicing his leg deeply. Itachi fell to one knee, smiling ironically, and pulled out another kunai, using Shunshin no Jutsu to appear farther away from his brother. Sasuke wasn't fooled and jumped forward as soon as the smoke appeared, slicing into the cloud, Itachi appeared from the cloud, his arm gauntlet once again taking the blow, pitting deeply. Itachi flung his arm to the side rapidly, flinging the sword from Sasuke's grip. Sasuke ducked under a punch only to receive a kick to the chest. He skidded backward, drawing chakra into his legs and releasing it all at once, creating a massive shockwave and shooting straight into the air. Itachi quickly threw up his arms, blocking the heel drop from Sasuke and pushing him back upward, he then quickly dropped backward, kicking him in the small of the back. Sasuke skidded backward, his back aching, and blocked another kick from Itachi, twisting his arms and causing Itachi to spin into a more vulnerable position. Sasuke quickly pulled a kunai from its holster and stabbed his older brother, his kunai digging into Itachi's side. Sasuke felt a kunai slip past his guard and stab him as well, completely cutting through the muscle in his right leg.

Sasuke quickly spun on his hands, pushing himself backwards. He rolled under a kunai and was surprised when he felt a cool hand land on his leg. Eagle Five looked into his black eyes, "Don't move it," she quickly healed his leg, reattaching the muscle. Sasuke stared at her for a few seconds, his black eyes searching her face as if to learn some secret from it. He quickly pushed her away and stood back up, running at his brother. He quickly drew in a breath and blew another fireball at Itachi who simply countered it with another fireball. Sasuke ran forward, his hands a blur, prodding and testing Itachi's guard. Sasuke quickly jumped back from a kick, activating his Chidori Nagashi, Itachi quickly jumped to the side, feeling his body slightly numb nonetheless. Sasuke lunged forward, his leg slamming heavily against Itachi's arm. Itachi realized that the chakra he was using to maintain the genjutsu he used on Eagle One was making him slower and quickly released it.

Eagle One opened his eyes, shivering with fear. He felt bile rise in the back of his throat and ripped his mask off, throwing up all over the ground. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, he wanted to die... he had spent what felt like a month watching everyone who he held precious leaving him, leaving him all alone, over and over. He was shown how helpless he was, how unable to save those he loved and he hated himself for it, he hated himself for his weakness. So he cried, cried because of his weakness, his heart being wrenched from his body. Eagle Five quickly ran to him, her eyes filled with concern, "Lee-san! Are you okay?" she yelled.

Lee scrambled backward, his eyes wide, "I.. I am s.. so sorry... S.. S.. Sakura-chan," he whimpered, "I.. am so sorry..." he remembered what had happened to Sakura during the genjutsu and screamed. He had tried so hard to get to her, he had pushed himself so far... but it hadn't worked and his love had joined the ever growing pile of the dead. She began to run toward him and he scrambled backward, his eyes filling with tears, "N.. No.. I.. I am so sorry... I... I could not save you... I.. I could not... I was too weak..."

Eagle Five was concerned, Lee was acting so oddly, she began to walk toward him and he had scrambled away from her, mumbling something about how 'they' were dead and how it was all his fault, she quickly ran and caught him, holding his head in her hands, "Lee-san! What's wrong?" she yelled, trying to get him to regain his composure. It was the wrong thing to do.

Lee tore away from her hands, the act of compassion scaring him in his mental state. He quickly jumped up, running from her but running straight into Eagle Four who quickly caught him, "E.. Eagle One?" she said, her voice scared.

Lee sunk low, slipping from Eagle Four's grip, his breaths coming in gasps, "No... No... this cannot be... they... they are all dead... and it is my fault... it is my fault for being substandard... for being too weak..." he quickly grabbed Eagle Four's legs hugging them tightly, "I TRIED!" he yelled, tears streaming down his face, "I.. I tried.. but I failed.. I TRIED! You.. you have to believe me,"

Eagle Four glanced at Eagle Five, "Did Itachi do this?" Eagle Five nodded and Eagle Four paled behind the mask. She quickly pulled Lee up, staring at his ashen face, he was still sobbing and twitching, his hands ripping at his hair. "Eagle One! Eagle One!" she yelled, "Listen to me!" Lee froze for a scant minute, staring at her with fright, "You've been affected by Itachi's Tsukiyomi! None of it was real!" she yelled.

Eagle Six quickly walked up, his eyes resolute, "Damn it Lee-san, pull it together, it can't be that bad, are you just going to let this beat you?"

Lee looked away, attempting to resort his jumbled thoughts, "B.. But y.. you are all dead.. h.. he killed you..." he whimpered, "And I.. I couldn't stop him! It is all my fault!"

Eagle Three huffed irritatedly, she stepped forward and slapped her squad leader, his eyes becoming wider than before, "There," she said calmly, "Did that feel real or not?"

Lee felt his mind resolving itself slowly, he remembered the fight with Itachi and how he had used the Mangekyo Sharingan to trap him in a genjutsu. He took a deep breath, his eyes returning to normal. He still felt sick but could think now. He tried to suppress the bile that was once again rising in his throat and looked around, assessing the situation, "G.. Go help Eagle Two," he said weakly, "Leave me here, I probably will not be of any assistance for some time,"

Eagle Four began to argue but the look in her squad leader's eyes immediately dissuaded her. "Yes, sir," she whispered. Eagle One nodded back at her and slowly crawled behind a tree, trying to banish the genjutsu from his mind. He quickly doubled up and threw up again.

"Eagle Two!" Eagle Three yelled as she saw her teammate lying crumpled and inert on the ground, Eagle Three blinked in surprise, Eagle Two was still alive, only unconscious, she quickly nodded to a stricken looking Eagle Five, "Take care of her and Eagle Seven, when you're done come help us with Itachi and Sasuke!" Eagle Five nodded and the rest of the squad ran down the path to where the battle between the Uchiha continued.

"TEME!" Eagle Six yelled as Sasuke was thrown through a tree. He jumped forward, throwing several kunai at Itachi, they were easily deflected and Eagle Six began to mold chakra, preparing to form several Kage Bushins.

Itachi simply glanced at him and blew several dragons of fire at him. Eagle Three stepped up, having finally repaired her weapon, "Kamataichi no Jutsu!" she yelled, blowing the dragons back to their creator. Itachi leapt away, the dragons setting fire to where he was scant moments before.

Sasuke picked himself back up, slivers of wood falling off of him in a sheet. He formed several handseals and created another Chidori, using the distraction provided by the ANBU to sneak up behind his brother. He jumped out of the shadows, the deadly attack aimed at his brother's head, "CHIDORI!"

Itachi quickly dodged under the attack, the Chidori still burning his shoulder as it sailed past. Itachi ran forward, stabbing at his younger brother with a kunai when he suddenly found a kunai sailing quickly at his head. He ducked and glared up to the thrower, his eyes full of menace.

Eagle Three turned, "Eagle One... you should be resting!"

Eagle One shrugged, "I will not stand to the side as my friends fight," he quickly drew another kunai and aimed. Itachi simply caught the kunai and threw it back at the ANBU captain, Eagle One caught it as well and jumped from his perch in the tree, once again aiming the kunai.

Eagle Four silently rolled under Itachi and stabbed at a tenketsu, Itachi blocked her arm and quickly spun, blocking the strikes she attempted with her other hand. He ducked low, and slammed his fist into the small weak point formed by Eagle Four's thrust and knocked her back, breaking several ribs with the strength of his strike. Eagle Four's eyes widened from the pain and she stumbled backward. Sasuke ran up, hurling the injured ANBU out of the way and hurling himself at Itachi again.

Eagle Four gave a small cry of pain as she hit the ground, rolling away from the battle. Eagle Six quickly created several Kage Bushins and sent them to attack Itachi and distract him while he rescued Eagle Four. He quickly swooped down from a tree and picked up the smaller girl, safely carrying her behind a tree, "You okay Hinata-chan?" he asked. Eagle Four nodded nursing her broken ribs. Eagle Six softly laid her down and winked, "I'll go make him pay for that! I promise!" Eagle Four looked up at him with adoring eyes and nodded.

Sasuke was tiring, he jumped to the side, avoiding another bone-cracking blow from his brother and kicked upward, knocking his brother's guard down. He quickly drew a chakra pulse into his arm and slammed it into Itachi's stomach, sending him flying as if he had been shot from a cannon. Itachi stood up again, and brushed off another kunai. His gaze fixed solidly on Sasuke. He drew a kunai and ran forward, slicing low, Sasuke predictably jumped up and Itachi followed up his slash with a spinning kick to the chest. Sasuke flew backward, clutching his chest when suddenly Eagle Six jumped down from a tree directly behind Itachi, he swung at Itachi but the elder Uchiha was too fast, he blocked the fist and followed up with a punch of his own. Itachi frowned as the ANBU popped and turned into smoke, he suddenly felt several more chakra signatures surround him and blocked three Bushins' kicks. He pushed one Bushin as it sailed past him and kicked it in the back, causing it to poof away. He turned, slashing at several more Bushin with his kunai when he felt a slight tap on his back, he turned and in one quick move, slammed Eagle Six in the stomach, causing him to fly upward. Itachi drew in a breath, preparing to shoot a fire jutsu at the helpless ANBU when suddenly his back literally exploded. Eagle Six grinned, landing perfectly on his feet, the explosive notes he had planted on Itachi's back creating a firestorm of hell. "What? Surprised?" he chuckled.

Itachi winced from the extreme pain and fixed an incredibly hateful gaze toward Eagle Six, "Fox... you will regret that," He jumped forward, ducking under a kick, he quickly drew in a breath and hit Eagle Six with fireball at point-blank range. Eagle Six flew back, ripping branches off of several trees as he fell. Eagle Six struggled back up, his robes smoking. His trembling hands traveled down to his chest, and Eagle Six boggled, there was no hole in his chest, in fact there was almost no damage done at all... the ANBU robes were completely resistant to fire. He mentally thanked Eagle One for his foresight and ran back toward Itachi, drawing chakra into his hand. Itachi looked astonished that the ANBU had survived his assault, his eyes narrowed, "Fire resistant robes?" he muttered, "So Konoha really is preparing..."

Eagle Six was almost halfway to Itachi when he was frozen in place by the scene in front of him. Eagle One had nodded to Eagle Four and gestured at his wrists, Eagle Four had nodded back and she slipped weights that looked incredibly similar to Eagle One's own off of her body from almost invisible catches in her armor. She had then ran toward Itachi, a look of anger in her eyes. Eagle Six couldn't tear his eyes away from the girl, she was moving incredibly quickly, her hands barely visible. Itachi's eyes widened as well and he stumbled backward, using all of his speed to dodge the small ANBU. He blocked a thrust to his left arm but was hit in the stomach with a quick volley of attacks. Itachi jumped backwards and swung at his enemy, he missed and Eagle Four reappeared behind him, striking him on the neck . He dropped to his knees but swung his leg low around the girl, knocking her back slightly, he then saw his opening. He quickly drew his left arm back, drawing Eagle Four to attack his open left side, she did and he drove his arm into her ribs again, causing her to scream from the pain. Eagle Four felt consumed by pain, she backed away slowly, her already broken ribs on fire. She quickly blocked a punch from Itachi and flipped forward, trying to use her momentum to knock him off balance, she shuddered as her ribs sent another spear of pain through her on impact. She flung her arm forward, cutting off the circulation of chakra to Itachi's right hand. She felt fear shoot through her body as a hand closed on her shoulder from behind. Sasuke gripped Eagle Four's shoulder more tightly, driving the Chidori into the girl's back. Eagle Four flung her hand behind her, felt an intense burst of pain and passed out immediately. Sasuke just smirked and threw the smoldering girl away from him, no sorrow for his actions showing on his face at all. Eagle Six's eyes widened and he ran to the inert Eagle Four, "HINATA-CHAN!" he yelled, completely abandoning the battle. Eagle Three glanced at her teammate and was about to order Eagle Six to extract Eagle Four somewhere safe when she was hit directly on the neck by Sasuke. She fell to the ground, clutching her neck and Sasuke kicked her viciously, knocking her unconscious. Eagle Six stood, gently placing Eagle Four's head back on the ground, his eyes burning with barely restrained anger. His pupils began to slit and he felt heat projecting from his body, he turned to Sasuke, ripping the mask off his face and grinning evilly. "You're going to pay for that teme," he said softly and menacingly. Sasuke stared at his old teammate in astonishment, he had never felt such... fear... from him before. "I really didn't want to use this Sasuke..." he said softly, menace still pouring from him, "But I sure do now," he created another Oodama Rasengan, this time spinning it faster, spinning it in one hand so quickly, it stretched out, it looked more like a lance than a ball, long and sharp. "Ikazuchi Rasengan!" Sasuke threw his arms up to block the attack but not fast enough, the thin bullet of chakra blew through his defense, blowing up centimeters from his face with violent fury. Sasuke felt himself losing consciousness and stumbled away, unable to see through the blood flowing from his face. He quickly knelt behind a tree trying to clear his vision, unable to believe that Naruto, the class dead-last, had bested him... again.

Itachi blinked in absolute astonishment, the attack had been so fast he hadn't been able to follow it even with his Sharingan. He had to neutralize the demon fox immediately. He once again drew chakra to his eye, feeling the familiar tingling sensation as his eyes changed. He quickly formed several handseals and forced more chakra to his eyes. "Amaterasu!"

Eagle One jumped to Naruto, sweeping his legs at chest level only hard enough to knock him backwards barely saving him from a blob of black fire. Suddenly black fire rained from the sky in torrents, the temperature rising incredibly. Eagle One felt extreme heat on all sides but stumbled forward, desperately trying to get to Eagle Three and Four and carry them out of the blistering heat. Naruto ran out of the range of the fire, his face and hair burned slightly. He looked around to see Eagle One struggle deeper into the fire, all of the cloth on his body starting to catch fire. "Lee-san!" he yelled. Eagle One didn't even acknowledge him, he just struggled farther in, picking up a still unconscious Eagle Four, wrapping a heat-resistant blanket around her and struggling to get to Eagle Three. Naruto watched in awe, Eagle One shouldn't even have been conscious from the extreme heat.

Eagle One felt his consciousness slowly leaving him and struggled even harder, cursing his weakness. _'The people that are precious to me will never suffer as long as I draw breath...'_ he thought grimly, falling to one knee, his mind numbing. The fire, it seemed everywhere, his lungs felt burnt from drawing in the burning air. He couldn't think anymore. He begged his body to work and stood back up, legs straining from the lack of oxygen, his mind spinning. He fought for each step, each horribly painful step, begging himself not to fail his team, not even concerned with his own safety anymore. He took another ragged breath, his legs giving way but still holding Eagle Four away from the bulk of the fire. He fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, still struggling to reach the last member of his squad. _'No... I... I.. have to reach her... I.. have to... this is not their day to die..'_ Eagle One felt the fire-resistant material of his uniform finally give way and start to burn, sticking to his skin, grafting to it. He could no longer see, the temperature being too high for him to open his eyes. He could feel his body shutting down. He took a deep breath and opened the Heal gate, granting himself a momentary reprieve from the pain and stood back up, he opened his eyes, shutting them again in pain but committing Eagle Three's position to memory. He quickly ran, feeling his stamina leaving him extremely quickly and stumbling over things, only avoiding the flames of the Amaterasu by chance. He fell but scrambled to his feet. _'Lungs burning... heat... heat everywhere... is this where I will die?'_ his muddled mind thought. _'My squad! ... I... rescue... can't die.. won't die.. not while they are... in danger'_ He fell to his hands and knees, reaching desperately for where he had remembered seeing Eagle Three. He felt a human hand and pulled his only other heat-resistant blanket from his pack, wrapping it tightly and securely around his squadmate. He began to get up, but collapsed, unable to strain his body any further. Eagle One considered sharing a blanket with one of the others but immediately dismissed it in his mind. The blankets were proven to guard one person against any temperature fire-jutsu for a total of three hours, and it wasn't proven to work for two people using the same one. He berated himself considering something so selfish and rolled over, his armor twisting and warping from the heat. He felt his eyes close as if on their own and frowned, there was so much he had wanted to do before he died. "Looks like this is it..." he muttered, "I wish I could have earned your love Sakura-chan... looks like I was never meant to..." he whispered.

"Lee-san!" a clearly feminine voice called. It was odd. Did her voice sound strained? Full of compassion even? Why would anyone care about him? He didn't deserve to be cared about... he was the dirt at everyone's feet, the lowest of the low... there was nothing he deserved, only what was given to him by the grace of others.

"Lee-san!" another voice called. Male. He smiled. Friends. Friends were good. Not that he deserved any of them, he was too weak to have friends. Much too weak. The female voice called out to him again. Who could it be? And why? What was that sound? Was that... crying? He shifted uneasily. He couldn't believe it... no compassion was ever given to him but by those closest to him... why... why now? He saw a bright flash of light, then... pink.. a shade of pink that inspired him deeply, the pink that made his heart soar ever time he saw it, the pink that he had fallen in love with. Vibrant emerald eyes, filled partially with tears.

---

"Go away you idiot!" another kid yelled. "Why are you trying to be a ninja anyway? If you can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu, you're not a ninja!"

The children circled around him like jackals, all laughing at him. He backed away quickly, tears streaming from his eyes, "NO!" he yelled, "I can do it! Shut up!"

"You cannot change destiny," the white-eyed child remarked quietly, "It shows your stupidity that you believe that you can. The small group of fangirls who had been standing behind him nodded self-righteously.

"NO! I WILL BECOME A NINJA!" Lee yelled at the top of his lungs. The eight-year old slammed his hands over his ears, defying them all, "I WILL!"

One of the fangirls ran up and tore his hands down from his ears, grinning maliciously, "Listen to Neji-kun! He's the smartest and best ninja in our grade, he's everything you'll NEVER be,"

A girl who was idly spinning a shuriken looked over, "Hey Umiko, that's not true, remember? Lee's gotten higher grades than Neji-san since our first year here. Stop sticking up for him if it's not true."

The first girl, presumably Umiko stopped, her face annoyed, "Shut up Tenten!" she yelled, "Just because Neji-kun likes me the best doesn't mean you have to be jealous," she quickly glanced at Neji who offered no testimony to deny or confirm what she said.

Tenten smiled sweetly, "Honestly, I don't give a damn who he likes,"

"I'm telling Iruka-sensei you used really bad language again!" Umiko shrieked.

"Sure, go ahead,"

Umiko glared at her and turned her attention back to Lee, "What are you staring at loser?"

"N.. nothing..."

Umiko chuckled, "Who let you into the ninja academy anyway? You're a completely worthless person! And those eyebrows! EWW!" she let out a small shudder to emphasize her point, several children laughing.

Umiko opened her mouth again, undoubtedly to say something rude but was interrupted by the bell dismissing them. When she turned to look at Lee again, he was already gone, the only indication that he had been there at all being the dark splotches his tears had made on the ground. Umiko turned around triumphantly, "Maybe he'll figure out he's not wanted here," she said loudly. The rest of the children looked slightly apologetic but that didn't stop them from laughing along. Her eyes sought Neji but he was gone as well, her smile slowly vanished and she was about to join her friends in praising the Hyuuga and ridiculing Lee when she was interrupted by a voice from behind her.

"You really are a bitch," a small girl said softly, her navy eyes staring into Umiko's brown ones. "You're not even as good as he is.." and with that she walked away.

Tenten looked amazed and laughed at the other girl's bravery. "I agree," she yelled.

Umiko stomped away, fuming. Lee stopped running fifteen minutes later, panting heavily. His legs were so tired he thought they would give out. He quickly turned into an alley and sat down heavily, tears still prickling his eyes. He wanted to show them that he could do it, he wanted to show them his strength, but deep inside he was afraid, he was afraid that they were right, that he was being foolish. He slammed his head into his hands in anguish one final time and looked around, he had run in a random direction and wasn't sure where he was. He quickly tried to stop his tears and walked out of the alley. He was walking back the way he had come when he first heard it. "Please give it back!" a voice wailed. It sounded young and Lee felt his chivalry rise. He strode in the direction of the voice.

"You want it?" the genin said maliciously, "Take it from me... forehead girl,"

The small pink-haired girl hugged herself tightly and brushed the hair that had fallen in front of her face away. "Please give it back..." she whimpered.

The genin tauntingly walked up to her, dangling the red ribbon in front of the younger girl's face. "Come get it if you want it so bad!" The girl made a half-hearted grab at the ribbon but received a quick slap to the face for her troubles. "You're going to need to be faster than that forehead girl!" He pushed the younger girl down roughly, causing the small girl to burst into tears.

"Stop!" a unsure voice called. Lee walked up to the genin, feigning confidence, "You should be ashamed!" he spat, "A fully qualified genin of Konoha picking on younger children! Now give her back her ribbon!" He knew exactly what it was like to be bullied and his heart went out to the girl.

"Oh? Well now, would you like me to pick on you?" the genin said, his smirk deepening.

Lee felt the color drain from his face but composed himself quickly, slamming his hands rather theatrically together into a seal. "You d.. don't want to do that," he stammered, "I.. I am the best ninja in my class..." he could only pray his bluff would work, silently begging that the genin would not have heard the story of the odd kid at the Academy who couldn't preform jutsu.

The genin laughed hysterically, "So you're the best in your class eh?" he pointed to the shiny metal of the forehead protector that was glistening in the evening sun. "I'm already a genin kid, it doesn't matter how good you are compared to your class, because compared to me, you're worthless,"

The small girl looked from the genin to the boy who had stood up for her so bravely, "Please leave him alone..." she said, tears threatening to reform in her eyes, "He could hurt you... and... just don't worry about me,"

Lee's expression hardened, "No... I will not stand to watch this excuse for a ninja, bully someone weaker than him around,"

The smile dropped off the genin's face and he slowly drew into a fighting stance, "Excuse of a ninja am I?" he said threateningly, "Well let's see if we can't change that nasty opinion," he ran forward, punching at the much younger Lee. Lee jumped away from the punch and kicked at the genin's chest. The genin simply reached across and grabbed his leg, lifting the struggling kid high into the air. "So.." he whispered, "What do you think of this 'excuse for a ninja' now?" Lee struggled to break free of his grasp to no avail, the genin still smiling at him cruelly. The genin drew back his free arm, driving his fist repeatedly into the younger child's stomach, Lee felt the blows but could do nothing to stop them so he hung there silently, clutching his stomach in pain.

The small girl quickly ran up to the genin, pummeling him weakly with her fists, "Leave him alone!" she yelled, "Just leave him alone!"

The genin smirked and tossed the child he held in his hand casually at the smaller girl, knocking them both down. "Here you go,"

Lee struggled back to his feet, clutching his wrist. "Give her the ribbon back!"

The girl quickly pulled him back, her eyes desperate, "No! Leave him alone, he can keep the ribbon.."

The genin smirked at both of them, "You think I really care about this ribbon?" he casually spit on it and threw it on the ground, grinding it into the dirt with his heel. "Why would anyone care about a dumb ribbon anyway?"

The girl began to cry again, "It.. it was a gift from my best friend..." she whispered.

The genin reached down and put the ribbon back in his pocket, "Oh really? Then you don't mind if I keep this do you?" He smiled at the little pink-haired girl, she just continued to cry.

Lee felt blind anger at the genin, "You horrible person!" he yelled. He ran forward swinging his fists with all of the power his tiny body could muster. The genin simply dodged it and knocked him down again. Lee quickly spun on his hands, spinning his legs near the genin's head.

The genin quickly lost interest in the little game and kicked Lee in the chest, he then picked him up and slammed him into the ground, causing tears of pain to well up in Lee's eyes. He kicked the curled up kid one last time and walked off casually, laughing at the top of his lungs. The little girl ran up to him and rolled him onto his back, "Are you okay?" she said, frightened.

Lee smiled, tasting blood in his mouth, "Here you go..." he said, opening his fist and giving her the ribbon that he had pulled from the genin's pocket during the fight. His chest was bruised and hurt but he smiled because he was finally able to help someone and that was all he had ever wanted.

The girl stared at him and smiled, her jade eyes twinkling, "Thank you so much!" she squealed. She helped him up and she looked so much happier, if a little shy, "Thank you so much!" she squealed again, "You're really strong!"

Lee froze, tears of joy starting to drip down his face. _'M..Me? S.. Strong?'_ he couldn't believe his ears, no one had ever told him that he was strong before, not even the teachers at the academy. "T.. T.. Thank you..." he said quietly, reveling in the sudden joy that he had never felt before.

The girl slipped the ribbon into her pocket and smiled at him, "Are you okay? That mean genin really did some bad things to you..." her eyes lingered over the bruises that were starting to form on his arms and legs, and the deep star-shaped gash on his bicep where the genin had actually slammed him against the sharp edge of the pavement.

Lee nodded, "I.. I'm fine..." he looked down at his feet, he didn't really have any experience with people talking to him kindly before.

"My name's Sakura! What's yours?" she said brightly.

Lee looked down, the question burning painfully into his mind and bringing back thoughts he did not want, "I.. I.. um.." he stammered, "My name is..." he stopped when he saw her staring oddly at his face.

He winced as the girl stared at his eyebrows critically, knowing what would happen, she giggled, "You have funny eyebrows," she said, "They make you look kind.."

His head shot up in amazement, she hadn't ridiculed him immediately, "You don't think they're creepy? Or disgusting? Or.. or..." he HAD to make sure that she had said what he had heard.

"It's not how a person looks that's important... it's their heart that counts!" she said cheerfully, she looked down at her watch and gasped, "I'm sorry but I have to go home now! Mommy will be waiting! I'll never forget what you did for me! I hope you become a great ninja!" she yelled as she turned. Her face lit up for an instant and she turned back around, digging in her pocket and producing a small pink handkerchief, she handed it to him, "Here! You can stop the blood with this!" she said cheerfully and walked away, leaving a stunned Lee.

Lee stood alone on the path, tears dripping from his face. He wanted to go to the girl and promise that he would always remember her too... but he was too overcome with emotion to move, so for the second time that day, he just sat on the ground and cried, this time in joy.

Several years passed and Lee never really saw the girl again. He thought of her everyday though, using the kindness he felt in her words to buoy him above the criticism of his peers and teachers. That was when he decided his nindo, he would do it for her, to repay her for the gift of hope she had given to him. He would become a good... no a GREAT ninja and with this as a goal he strove harder and harder, ignoring the broken bones, pain, and heartache. He eventually was passed onto a genin team and worked even harder, his sensei, Maito Gai, actually assisting him instead of becoming annoyed with his natural ineptitude.

Then THAT day came, a nightmare to him of sorts. He had suggested to his team that they should appear weak, to throw off enemies and make them underestimate them. Neji and Tenten had agreed and they had problems with another genin on the second floor. He then, for the first time in several years saw HER, the girl who had given him the will to succeed. He saw that a fight was about to break out and couldn't help but step in, stopping both the younger Uchiha and the annoying genin and saw HER. He felt similar to how he had when he first met her, but his feeling were filled with love now, she had literally saved him from spiraling ever downward and he loved her beyond reason for it, she was an angel, the symbol of all good in the world to him. He had gone up to her and introduced himself, sure that she would remember him. It hurt him deeply when she didn't even recognize him and he wanted to die when she, the person that made him believe that looks weren't everything and that only the heart was important, so casually informed him that he was odd, rejecting his feelings utterly. He realized later that she had changed, that she had become shallow like everyone else, he truly felt worthless now, even the girl who had meant so much to him turning her back on him. He continued to love her though, because whenever he looked in her eyes he could still see the little girl that had told him that he was strong and that he was kind, and he stood by her, defending her when she couldn't defend herself, hoping, wishing, begging that one day, the girl that had inspired him so much and that had given him hope in his darkest hour would return.

---

Eagle One felt his body respond on it's own, the memories of the past echoing in his mind, _"'You're really strong! They make you look kind!'"_ he staggered back up, lifting his squadmates easily. Once again the sight of his love crying filled his mind. _'I would never let you cry Sakura-chan...especially not over me..'_ He leapt skyward, his mind clearing for a few brief seconds, the heat vanishing quickly. He flipped forward, holding both of his friends high above him so they wouldn't be jarred too badly from the landing. He landed right in front of an astonished and shocked looking Eagle Five and Naruto. He smiled to both of them, "What?" then he collapsed heavily, losing consciousness immediately.

Eagle Five felt her fears fall away from her as Eagle One jumped from the fire. Both she and Naruto had tried to get to him but it was just too hot. She had really thought that he was going to die that time... she quickly blinked the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes away and pulled the blankets off of the other two ANBU. They had only received light injuries, the blankets having reflected the heat for the most part. She then turned her attention to Eagle One. He lay still, and she was frightened that maybe he had died but when she checked on him she found he was simply unconscious. She quickly peeled several layers of armor and clothing away. She grimaced at the sight, several layers of the clothing had melted to his skin, leaving it black and charred. She quickly activated her Chakra Enjintou and delicately removed the parts that had been grafted to his skin. She gritted her teeth in pain, she had used so much chakra that day, she was running very low on chakra. She quickly healed the more major burns on his body and began to work on his lungs, they were burnt very badly from the intensity of the heat. Naruto quickly ran to Eagle Four, checking her for the entry and exit wounds of the Chidori but couldn't find them. He was amazed, having been badly injured by the Chidori himself. He turned her over and suddenly understood. Eagle Four had shoved one hand behind her like Eagle One had during the teamwork exercises and poured chakra from that hand, effectively canceling out the blast. She had collapsed from exhaustion, from pulling too much chakra too quickly. He held her closely to himself, incredibly relieved that she was okay. He glared at Itachi in anger, "You're going to die.." he said menacingly. He ran forward, punching at Itachi. Itachi dodged to the side and slammed Naruto in the face with the back of his kunai, Naruto simply shrugged off the damage and kicked Itachi's arm up, exposing his left side. Naruto quickly pulled out a kunai of his own and stabbed Itachi in the stomach.

Eagle Five was still frantically working to lessen the burns on Eagle One's body when she felt a warm arm around her neck. She froze as she heard a familiar voice, "Heal me Sakura," Sasuke whispered menacingly.

"S.. S.. Sasuke-kun..." she gasped. Sasuke simply tightened the arm around her neck. Eagle Five shook slightly from fear as she nodded her head. Her childhood idol moved to where she could see him and she gasped. His face was covered with blood and deep cuts crossed his face, she felt like she was going to faint but reached up slowly, spreading healing chakra through his body.

Sasuke sighed as the pain he felt started to lessen and disappear. He could see again and the cuts on his forehead were slowly knitting back together. He smirked, as she lowered her hand, the concern still on her face. "Why thank you so much Sakura," he said, drawing his fist back, preparing to knock her out now that she was of no more use to him. His eyes widened comically as a fist shot out and caught his punch, squeezing his hand so tightly he thought it would break. Eagle One slowly rose to his feet, his hand squeezing the traitor's hand even harder, an audible cracking being heard by all.

"Lee-san!" Eagle Five yelled. "You shouldn't be up!" she quickly jumped up, quickly trying to pull him back down. He didn't budge, no matter how much strength she used, Eagle Five shook him softly, looking into his eyes, she froze as she saw that his eyes were unfocused and hazed. He was still unconscious, just like during the Chunin Exams.

Sasuke tried to pull his hand from the unconscious taijutsu master but failed, his hand starting to break from the extreme force that Eagle One was squeezing with. Sasuke quickly kicked the ANBU captain in the stomach, he immediately regretted it, it was like kicking a brick wall. He quickly drew chakra to his other hand and punched the ANBU captain again. Eagle One's grip slackened for a brief second and Sasuke pulled his hand away, staring at it in amazement. He glared at Eagle One and Eagle Five for a few seconds, then he turned and walked back toward the battle. Eagle Five finally laid Eagle One down again, her eyes filling with tears. She once again started to work on him, her silent tears falling on him the entire time.

Naruto slammed his fists into Itachi's chest, knocking the breath from the Uchiha's lungs. Itachi quickly ducked under his next punch and flipped over the younger ninja's head. Naruto turned around, quickly bringing his arms up to block the attack he thought was coming but fell as Itachi knocked his legs out from under him. Naruto quickly rolled onto his hands, barely dodging the kunai that was aimed at his chest and flipped forward, smashing his heel onto Itachi's forehead. Itachi stumbled backward , blocking another kick and flipping Naruto upward, he quickly pulsed chakra to his fist and slammed it into his enemy's back, launching him into the air. Naruto was stunned, and his back was aching badly, he quickly plummeted back toward the ground, the wind whistling around him when he felt a sudden jolt. He groggily looked around, and he saw fur. "Damn it! If you die before I get a chance to kick your ass for the Chunin Exams, I'll never forgive you!" Eagle Seven yelled.

Naruto looked up, Eagle Seven's hair had been badly burned and a large gash ran down the side of his chest, "Thanks dog boy..." he said softly.

Eagle Seven glared at him again but it was slightly different this time, this time his gaze held more compassion than annoyance, "Eagle Seven A," he said softly. Eagle Seven landed and dropped Naruto unceremoniously onto the ground. He ignored the complaints from Naruto and glanced at Eagle Five and the rest of his squad, his eyes suddenly becoming frightened, "Are.. they going to be okay?" he said in scarcely more than a whisper.

Eagle Five nodded, stopping bleeding near a major artery, "Hinata-san and Temari-san will be just fine..." she said, "Lee-san has some pretty bad injuries,"

Eagle Seven's eyes burned with anger, "Was it Itachi?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah... why?" Eagle Seven didn't even give a reply, he gave what sounded like a strangled growl and jumped toward where Itachi had been moments ago. "Kiba!" Naruto yelled after the infuriated ninja. He quickly jumped after him, hard-pressed to follow because of Eagle Seven's speed.

Eagle Two stumbled down the path, breathing heavily. She nodded to Eagle Five and sat down next to her heavily. She quickly smiled to Eagle Five but her grin slid off her face as she saw her teammates lying on the ground. "Are they..."

"They'll be okay," Eagle Five interrupted quickly, she understood why the ninja would be concerned but it was getting slightly annoying to keep answering the same question over and over again.

Eagle Two nodded, she quickly pulled her mask down and looked Eagle Five in the eyes. "Eagle Five..." Tenten said softly, "Are his wounds really bad?"

Eagle Five nodded, "They're pretty bad Tenten-chan, I'm doing the best I can,"

Tenten closed her eyes, unsure of what to do, "Maybe there's another way Eagle Five..." she said softly.

"What do you mean?"

Tenten quickly lifted up Eagle One's sleeve, once again baring the Eagle symbol. She quickly bit her thumb and drew a bloody 'X' over the tattoo. She then drew an 'X' ever her own tattoo, Eagle Five's eyes widening considerably, Tenten took a deep breath and put her hand over the tattoo, pouring her chakra into her friend. She felt some chakra leave her and pulled away, her eyes shining with hope. _'Thank you so much Shizune-san... we all owe you one..'_

Eagle Five stared in astonishment as Eagle One stabilized and his heart stopped beating as erratically, he was healing before her very eyes. Her eyes widened, realizing what she had just witnessed, she turned to Tenten, respect in her eyes, "Sozo Saisei?" she said, "But.. only Tsunade-sama knows how to do that!"

Tenten smiled at her warmly, "Shizune-san wanted to make sure that we wouldn't die without her... she put a version of the Genesis Seal Tsunade-sama has on her head in the tattoos. You didn't think that they were just for show did you?" Tenten chuckled and pulled her mask back on, falling back into the familiar blackness. "I'm going to go help Naruto and Eagle Seven," she said. She quickly drew a scroll and jumped away.

Sasuke ducked, barely avoiding another fireball when an enraged Eagle Seven A and B suddenly plowed into the middle of their fight. "Jujin Bushin!" he yelled. Two beast-like forms appeared, one standing on top of the other. Sasuke jumped over the first Jujin Bushin but was slashed across the chest by the second. He flipped backward, launching himself off of a tree, and managed to put himself behind the enraged Eagle Sevens. He quickly drew in a breath and launched another fireball at the two Jujin Bushins. Eagle Seven A grinned, he was expecting it this time, he quickly jumped upward, rebounding off of Eagle Seven B's back and flew forward, straight toward Sasuke. Sasuke barely blocked the attack, several claw marks appearing on pale skin of his forearm. Itachi simply dodged Eagle Seven B's attack and sent it flying with a quick kick to the chest. Eagle Seven B whimpered and quickly reverted back into the form of a dog. Eagle Seven A half-turned, his mind immediately leaving the fight before him, "Akamaru!" he yelled.

Sasuke saw his chance, he quickly pulled out a senbon that had a metal wire attached to it and threw it at the distracted Eagle Seven. Eagle Seven spun around, his eyes filled with surprise. Sasuke grinned at him evilly, "Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu," he said, blowing a large stream of fire down the length of the wire.

Eagle Seven threw his arms up to block the fire but it was too fast, it struck him, burning him painfully and knocking him unconscious once again. Sasuke swiftly pulled the wire again, slipping the senbon out of Eagle Seven's chest and grabbing it again. Naruto quickly burst into the clearing as well, his mouth hanging open as he saw Eagle Seven lying curled up on the ground, bleeding. "You..." he said threateningly once more, "I gave you a chance..." Naruto once again formed an Oodama Rasengan in his hand, flattening it out. "I really thought you would change... me... and Sakura-chan... we both thought you could change... but apparently you can't..." he jumped forward, stabbing at Sasuke with the Ikazuchi Rasengan as if it were a sword. Sasuke dodged under the Rasengan, having felt first-hand the damage it could do. Sasuke jumped backwards, barely dodging the Rasengan again, he drew the remains of his chakra back into his body activating his Chidori Nagashi to absorb the next blow, praying that it would hold. Naruto felt Sasuke draw chakra into himself and realized that he was activating his absolute defense, he cursed and turned, throwing the Ikazuchi Rasengan at Itachi.

Itachi jumped down from the tree as he saw Naruto turn, it may have been the only thing that saved his life. The tree that he had been standing in literally exploded, long splinters of wood spraying everywhere. Itachi winced and pulled a small piece of wood from his arm. He quickly leapt forward, punching Naruto in the chest, Naruto staggered back and kicked back at him but Itachi was too fast, he grabbed the leg that Naruto was using to kick with and fling him upward again, exposing his back to attack. He was breathing in, about to release a fireball, when suddenly, there was a flash, and he couldn't see.

Eagle Two's eyes widened as her bomb casually bounced off of Sasuke's Chidori Nagashi and exploded on the ground below. She quickly jumped down to the ground, drawing another scroll and activating it, her trademark katana appearing. She quickly spun the sword, deflecting several kunai. Sasuke dodged backward, searching desperately for his Kusanagi sword. Itachi quickly shot another dragon of flame at Eagle Two who sliced through it, the heat dispersing before it could reach her. She jumped at Itachi, stabbing rapidly. Itachi dodged under the sword and swung his fist upward, slamming his fist into her face, cracking her mask. Eagle Two winced in pain and flipped her sword downward, cutting the side of Itachi's face. Itachi quickly drew back and swept his leg low, kicking Eagle Two's legs out from under her. Eagle Two fell heavily and Itachi pulled out a kunai, preparing to make the final blow when he was suddenly thrown upward. Naruto grinned as he struck Itachi back down to the ground, pitting it deeply. "I'm not done yet..." he growled.

Sasuke stumbled away from the battle, his chakra drained. He took a deep breath, trying to stop the throbbing ache that he felt in his chest. He stiffened as he suddenly felt someone drop next to him, "Chakra Enjintou!" Eagle Five yelled, severing the muscles to his arms. Sasuke backed away and Eagle Five for the first time, looked him directly in the eyes, "You can't win Sasuke-kun.." she whispered, "Just come with us back to Konoha..."

Sasuke began to walk away when Eagle Five severed the muscles in his legs as well, he couldn't move, "So this is what you were planning the whole time," he spat.

"No... it's not... but it's for your own good," she said, "We'll come back for you after we defeat Itachi,"  
with that she slowly walked away from the fuming Sasuke.

Naruto blocked Itachi's kunai with one of his own and rolled under Itachi's guard, stabbing upward with his kunai. Itachi quickly stepped back and threw several shuriken at him. Naruto dodged backward, cursing, but was too slow, the shuriken were covering the distance too quickly. Suddenly Naruto saw a bright flash of light and the back of another person in front of him. "Hakkesho Kaiten!" Eagle Four yelled, blowing the shuriken back at Itachi.

Naruto chuckled, "You can sure times thing just right Hinata-chan.." he said. Eagle Four looked down in embarrassment but quickly composed herself, jumping forward at Itachi and quickly stabbing a tenketsu in his chest. Itachi felt the tenketsu on his chest close and flipped backward, dodging several more attacks, he blew another fireball at the injured ANBU when a burst of wind suddenly canceled his attack out.

Eagle Three flipped her fan in her hand so it was easier to hold, "Well now, this is interesting," she said.

Eagle Five quickly burst out of bushes to Itachi's right side, "Hey don't forget about me!" she yelled.

Naruto glanced at her, "Hey Sakura-chan! How's Lee-san?"

Eagle Five smiled under her mask, "Ask him yourself,"

Naruto glanced around and a black blur suddenly stopped in front of Itachi, swords drawn, "Eagle Squad!" it commanded, "Attack at your own discretion!" Eagle One half-turned to Naruto and smiled, "I am fine Naruto-kun, thank you for asking," Eagle One then leapt forward, his swords flashing in the air.

Itachi jumped backward, dodging the swords but having two more tenketsu on his chest close. Itachi cursed, the squad's movements and attacks were too fluid, too coordinated. He couldn't find a weak point. He ducked to avoid a kunai but flew forward again as a burst of wind hit him from behind. Eagle One quickly grabbed the elder Uchiha as he flew by him, spinning him in the air and slamming him into the ground. Itachi rolled away from the ANBU captain's follow-up attack, his heel smashing a hole where his head had been scant moments before. Itachi jumped back upright and smirked. He had found his opening. He slid around Naruto's enraged charge and pushed him into Eagle One. Eagle Two and Three stopped their attacks in fear of hitting their own team and Eagle One and Naruto were busy trying to untangle themselves from each other. Itachi almost grinned, it was pretty easy, his old ANBU squad was much more disciplined than this. Itachi blocked another Jyuken strike with his left armguard and sent the small girl who had attempted it flying. Eagle Two quickly jumped into the fray, two smoke and flash bombs in one hand and her katana in the other, she quickly dodged under Itachi's jab and dropped the bombs directly in front of him. "Smoke and Flash! Get down!" she called.

Naruto looked up to see what she was talking about but Eagle One practically jumped on his head, forcing it to the ground. Naruto grimaced as suddenly brightly colored dots exploded in his eyes. He quickly shook it off and looked up, Eagle One was already in motion, blinking rapidly to try to regain his vision. Itachi stumbled away, unable to see anything but the bright dots that were dancing in his eyes. He felt an arm around his chest and felt himself suddenly be thrown upward. "Raishin Rendan!" Eagle One ordered.

Eagle Two drew several scrolls and lay them on the ground. Itachi's vision was beginning to clear by then and he decided enough was enough. He drew chakra to his eyes again, feeling his Sharingan changing. He pulsed more chakra to his legs and arms and soon felt himself moving faster. "Susanoo Gate One," he also opened his maximum of four heavenly gates to add to his power.

Eagle One felt the subtle change of power and realized what was happening immediately. Itachi was opening the gates. He quickly opened five gates, turning to his squad, "Watch out!" he yelled, "He is opening the Gates!" his mouth fell open as Itachi literally disappeared in the blink of an eye. Eagle One was possibly the fastest of Konoha's ninja but Itachi's new speed could possibly rival his own.

Eagle Four felt her eyes widen in fear as suddenly Itachi disappeared. She couldn't even see him with her Byakugan. Suddenly there was a cracking sound and Naruto fell to his knees. Eagle Four was a taijutsu specialist in her own right, but her Jyuken was no match for this... this speed, she had only ever seen her squad leader this fast before and he was one of the most accomplished taijutsu specialists in Konoha. She drew her hands up to try to protect herself but she was scared, this was unbelievable. Eagle One quickly turned as he saw Naruto fall to his knees, bleeding from the mouth. He was confused, he had only felt four gates open for Itachi, but this was far beyond the strength four gates could provide. Another cracking sound, this time Eagle Three slumping to the ground. He drew into a battle stance and began to chase the blur that was wreaking havoc. Being a taijutsu specialist he knew exactly which of the gates Itachi was on and the weaknesses of the Uchiha's taijutsu style but still found him hard-pressed to defend even himself. Eagle One grunted as a punch broke through his guard and he went flying into a tree, the tree being destroyed, and before the tree's destroyed remains had even hit the ground Eagle One was back up, ripping the weights off of slots in his armor, tossing them on the ground. A large plume of dirt flew in the air and the ground shook, Itachi felt awe, an emotion he didn't feel often, he had thought the ANBU captain was fast before but he had still had another ace up his sleeve. Itachi dodged a flurry of punches and turned, blocking a punch that came too close to his face. He frantically forced more chakra to his eyes, feeling the burn intensify, "Susanoo Gate Three" he said, his voice literally echoing. Eagle One blinked in surprise as suddenly a fist literally drilled through his defenses, he gasped as the fist hit him, his stomach crying out in with pain in a fury he had never felt before from one punch. Eagle One grabbed the arm, immobilizing the attacker and crunched his legs together, kicking at Itachi with both of them, his mind buzzed in confusion as he hit nothing but air. Eagle One saw a punch with his peripheral vision and ducked, he gasped when he felt a leg thud down heavily on his back and kick him away. He crashed into a low branch so quickly that it tore into his body, cutting deeply, he had just struggled to his feet when he felt arms lifting him into the air. Eagle Two cursed, they were moving too quickly for her to really do anything, she drew a kunai and aimed but Itachi was too close to her squadmate, she couldn't attack one without possibly endangering the other, he was alone for a short time. Itachi pulsed chakra to his hand again and punched the ANBU in the face, shattering his mask, he threw the limp captain away and disappeared again, reappearing behind Eagle Two and knocking her unconscious with a punch to the stomach. Naruto struggled up, blood dripping from his mouth, he quickly swung at the form of the elder Uchiha, Naruto blinked as he hit nothing and collapsed, unconscious before he even realized he had been hit. Eagle Four quickly gathered her chakra to her center like Eagle One had taught her, she took a deep breath and concentrated. "Initial Gate Open!" she yelled. Itachi ran forward, a little slower than before but still little more than a blur, he struck at her and she blocked it barely, her arms screaming in pain from the power of the blow. She quickly sweeped her enemy, trying to knock him off his feet, Itachi simply jumped over the sweep and smashed his palm into her chest. Eagle Four saw stars, she struggled to breath as her chest felt as if it would collapse at any moment, tears of pain prickling in her eyes, she quickly sunk to her knees, sure that it was the end for her and her family.

Sasuke grinned at the bloody and beaten squad leader that had been thrown next to him, he was unable to move but he could still affect the other mentally. "Aww... what's the matter?" he said mockingly, "Can't a dropout beat a genius with hard work anymore Lee?" he spat on the ANBU captain, his eyes cold. "When will you learn? You're no match for him," he chuckled, "Run, run, and cling desperately to life... that's what he told me all those years ago... I suggest you follow that rule,"

The remnants of the mask crumbled off his face and he was Lee once again. Lee stood, his body protesting every movement, begging him to just surrender, to save himself. His will locked in place he turned to Sasuke. Sasuke blinked in wonderment, he had never seen such a look in the taijutsu master's eyes before, the look of cold determination. "That is what separates you from me, Uchiha," he spat, blood running freely down his body, he grimaced as he looked down, he had some serious injuries, he was not a medic but even he could see that. "You may run and cling to life.." He peeled his arm-guards off, exposing the bandages once more. _'Huh, today's as good a day to die as any...'_ he thought grimly as he flexed his arm, feeling hot needles of pain flash through it. "But I will always be willing to give mine for those that are precious to me.." He quickly drew his swords again and ran forward, activating seven gates, the world slowing down to a crawl. Lee was bursting with energy, there was no limit to what he could do, he felt so.. free. He ran forward, just in time to see Itachi badly injure Eagle Four. He was holding a kunai, apparently about to kill her when he made his move, he spun his swords and struck at Itachi's head.

Itachi couldn't believe it. The power of the Mangekyo Sharingan was allowing him to process information and move at speeds no human could match but the little weakling was keeping up with him, moving faster than him even. He suddenly understood, seeing the veins bulging on the captain's forehead and the shade of deep red, almost violet, he turned. He had opened one of the final three gates. Itachi was becoming increasingly frightened, no matter what he did, no matter how much damage he took, the taijutsu master Itachi had dismissed as a weakling always stood back up and threw himself into the fight once more. Itachi smirked however, despite his rising fear, the taijutsu master had run out of surprises, or so he thought. Itachi pulsed the remainder of his chakra to his Sharingan, light-headed from using it so much, he released it all at once, feeling a sense of extreme power wash over him. "Susanoo Final Gate!" Itachi exploded upwards, moving faster even than Lee.

Lee stared at the elder Uchiha, unable to believe that had happened. Itachi quickly punched at Lee who drew his swords across his body to block himself, with a loud pinging sound, the swords broke. Lee went flying as the punch connected, his mind reeling. He had reached his limit, he could do no more. Lee rolled under a punch, slamming a hand into Itachi's block, easily fracturing both of their arms. Lee shrugged off the damage, the gates' numbing effect allowing him to concentrate on the fight at hand. He quickly dropped the now useless hilts of his swords and fell into his Goken stance. Itachi ran forward, his hands impacting heavily onto the taijutsu master. Lee felt his ribs break, one lung being partially lacerated, and immediately banished his pain from his mind, there were more important things at hand. _'I am at seven gates, how is he surpassing me?'_ Lee's mind screamed, his mind told him that it was impossible, that he must be imagining it, but his body knew better, even as it slowly broke down, it was moving just in time, saving him from blows that could rend concrete in a single strike. Itachi pressed his attack forward, his enemy's blocks were getting slower and weaker, he was getting tired and right when he because so tired he couldn't fight back was when he would finally succumb to his blows and die. Lee ducked under Itachi's left arm and kicked, Itachi dodged it as Lee predicted and Lee continued to spin, switching his weight to his hands and flinging his feet near Itachi's head. Itachi grabbed the leg that was flying toward his head and spun the taijutsu master by it. Lee felt himself be lifted and thrown, he couldn't stop his momentum and hit the ground heavily. His concentration broke and his gates slammed shut once more. Lee groaned, a sudden , sickening explosion of pain streaming through his body. Eagle Five quickly ran to him, she rolled him onto his back and began to check him for severe injuries. She gasped, almost every muscle was snapped, every major artery slightly bleeding. "Lee-san!" she yelled, "What did you do to yourself?"  
Lee struggled to look up, his vision fading to blackness, "Eagle Five..." he whispered, spitting out the blood pooling at the bottom of his mouth. "Get the others... and get out of here..."

"But Lee-san..."

"NOW!" he yelled, he quickly stood back up, his body one massive throbbing ache. Itachi slowly walked to him, his eyes menacing. Lee quickly drew into a defensive stance, drawing his fragile arms across his body, not able to do much more, "Get out of here right now Eagle Five..." he whispered urgently, "I will hold him off as long as I can..." he knew that would only be seconds, minutes at most, but he had to try. They were his family, his team, he couldn't let them die.

Itachi quickly ran past the taijutsu master, dodging the pathetic punch that was meant to stop him. The captain was no longer a problem, he was too wounded to be of any threat, he needed to eliminate the last member of the squad. Itachi appeared in front of the pink-haired medical-nin and smirked at her fear. She had been dragging several member of her squad away, per her squad leader's wishes. He was about to strike her when he was suddenly flung backward by a kick. Lee panted as his chest burned, he could barely breathe. Itachi sighed and once again knocked the injured Lee to the ground, Lee tried to struggle back up but failed, he had reached his limit. Eagle Five backed away as Itachi slowly moved toward her, he drew chakra into his hand and struck at her. She let out a piercing scream and suddenly disappeared. Lee threw up violently as his body cursed him for moving, Eagle Five was still clinging to him tightly, her eyes wide with fear. Lee realized that if he didn't kill Itachi soon, his entire squad would probably die. He could not allow that, not even to protect his own life. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply and came to his decision. _'Forgive me Gai-sensei...'_ he thought. He quickly focused as hard as he could on the gates inside his body, finding the final one that would mean either victory or loss and the lives of his friends. His eyes snapped open and Lee slowly reached into his vest, taking a letter out of the pocket that was on the inside. He stared at it, his eyes starting to water.

---

"As part of your ANBU duties you will each write wills in case one of you die during a mission. They will be a back-up for your loved ones if you die, so make sure that they are written with them in mind," Commander Nara Shikamaru had told them, he looked as if he didn't care at all. "Break into your respective squads and write them,"

After a chorus of "Yes, Sir" from everyone in the room, he sat down, staring longingly out the window. It was all so damn troublesome.

Hinata stared at the paper in her hand, she had always known that death was a distinct possibility during her career as a ninja but this putthe possibilty of deathacross to her in a way she had never felt before, it was almost threatening. Her hand shook slightly as she slowly wrote.

Lee stared at the paper in his hand and at the others, they all looked pale. He quickly wrote his last requests on the paper and stuffed it in an envelope. Tenten came up to him, her usually brave eyes concerned. "Well... if I die... at least everyone I love will be taken care of.." she whispered, her voice breaking.

Lee stared at the envelope she held out to him. It seemed to be laughing at him, laughing at the sheer chance that one of his friends might die and it might be needed. Lee felt anger surge through his body and he snatched the will out of Tenten's hands, ripping it and throwing it on the ground. He quickly strode through his squad, grabbing the pieces of paper and ripping them resolutely. "No one will write any wills," he said strongly. "Wills are for people who are going to die... no one here will die," His squad stared at him as if he were insane. "If anyone dies on a mission. It will be me," he said firmly, placing his envelope in the inside pocket of his ANBU vest.

"But what about our families?" Kiba said quietly, "You can't promise that we won't die, isn't it better to prepare for the worst? You know... tell our families that we love them"

Lee swelled with anger, "NO! NO ONE IS GOING TO DIE! IF YOU WANT TO TELL YOUR FAMILY THAT YOU LOVE THEM THAN TELL THEM YOURSELF WHEN YOU GET BACK FROM THE MISSION. NO ONE WILL DIE! NO ONE! I PROMISE ON MY LIFE!"

---

Lee quietly laid the envelope on the ground, his eyes watering now. He didn't want to die... he really didn't, but there seemed to be no other way. He turned to Eagle Five, his voice maddeningly calm, "Eagle Five... when this is over, wake up Eagle Two and have her assume command, she should get you all to Konoha safely,"

"Why can't you just tell her Lee-san?" she said. Her breath suddenly caught in her throat as she realized what he was going to attempt to do. "Lee-san... no... there must be some other way!" she pleaded. "You can't do that!"

Lee shrugged, his face maddeningly calm, "I must protect the ones that I love... I.. I made a promise.." his eyes fell on her face for a few seconds before it fell away, he quickly reached down to the hitae-ate that he wore as a belt and he tore the metal forehead protector away from the red cloth around it. Therelay a small pink handkerchief that he had carried with him most of his life, he placed it in his love's hand, closing her fist around it solemnly, tears streaming from his eyes, "You said you would always remember..." he said sadly, "But I do not hold it against you... I... I love you Sakura-chan... be happy.." he whispered. He quickly concentrated all of his remaining strength to the final gate, flinging it open. His back arched in pain as unbearable amounts of strength began to flow through him. "EIGHTH GATE! SHIMON! OPEN!"

Itachi froze, his eyes widening in amazement. He couldn't believe it, the brat was willing to die to save his friends. Itachi's legs shook as he realized that with all eight gates open, his enemy was now almost invincible. Lee screamed in pain as the pressure built up inside his body. A shell of bluish chakra surrounded him, the shell then suddenly turned a shade of bright green. Eagle Five looked on in horror, the cells in his body were dying so quickly, Lee's skin had turned black. Lee floated up into the air, the chakra emanating from his body lifting him off the ground. Lee felt his body ripping itself apart, and he was being covered by a shell of green chakra... he saw a blinding flash of light, then darkness.

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Notes: Wow this chapter was really fun to write on my part. I hope you liked it, after all it's not whether I like it that's the big deal here, it's you, the reader! The childhood scene was because I never felt that Lee was revealing his real reason for liking Sakura. I'm sure it wasn't just "Oh look a girl with pink hair, I should ask her out! W00T" Anyway, check back here on July 4th because that's both my birthday and the birthday of my country so I'll definitely have to post a chapter then if not sooner, but at least I do promise to post on the 4th. And please review! Reviews are always encouraged, even begged for! You have no idea how much a little encouragement and a positive comment can improve my day! So Please Review!

Please?

I got so many positive reviews last time! Thank you everyone who took time to review! It means so much to me!  
_Review Replies:  
_  
**DreadlockMonkey**: I know what you mean, Lee is probably one of the most untouched charachters in Naruto (in charachter development) and I think that's odd considering how awesome his charachter is and how dedicated he is to everything. I completely share your sentiments on the comedic fics about Lee, yes some are funny, but I've never really seen Lee as a goofy person, I don't know, he just seems TOO cheerful, I think he's pretending to be stupid, remember what they say, "A person who laughs too much, laughs to keep from weeping," Thank you for your review and saying that this is awesome! It means so much to me! Thank you for wishing many more reviews for this story as well.

**Edward Sushi:** Yay! Points to me! Thank you so much for the review! I'm glad you liked the charachterization and fighting. Thank you so much for the review!

**anime girl987:** Hehe that stupid snake got what he deserved. Lol. I'm glad you're so enthusiastic about it too! I'm so happy that you liked it and I will update as quickly as I can. I'll try to update at least once a week but it may be varied because I have a history with the writer's block fairy.

**SapphireWhiteTigress:** I'm so sorry about the cliffhangers! I'm really bad about them but that's how my mind works, it just cuts off after a section, so I'm so very sorry but there are going to be a few cliffhangers. You're a great writer by the way, I really liked your fic We Danced. Not only is it with my favorite pairing (LeeSaku!) it's also just a plain amazing adaption of a song. I hope the anticipation didn't drive you too crazy because I'm looking forward to reading more of your work and I would be sad knowing I accidently made someone crazy... XD (Oh and I'm sorry if my response scared you) XD

**VASD1:** Thanks! I will!

**mangocloud:** Wow! Thank you for the praise! I promise that I'll finish this fic, I'm not really one to give up and as long as a single person is reading it then it's worth it! Thank you!

**Quietchick: **Lol! Lucky Review Thirteen? Lol, I was a little hesitant to post an update on the thirteenth review, because I was afraid it would jinx me. Lol, j/k! Anyway! Thank you for your review and I'm happy that you liked it and thought the fight scenes were good! I kinda felt that a Naruto fic should have some decent fighting because after all they are ninja...

**GoodDevil1989:** Yay! This broke the review number to fourteen so I could post! No, again j/k but thanks for the review. I'll keep the chapters coming! All I ask from everyone is a read and a review! Thanks so much!

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed. That's what keeps me in high spirits, thank you.  
And thank you for reading this fic, you've made me very happy.  
Oh, look in my profile and you'll find some pictures I got that really inspired me during the writing of this story. You don't know how long I just sat staring at a picture and thinking, "Hmm, if you were in such and such situation, how would you react?"


	6. Chapter Five: Shinigami

Eagle One

Chapter Five: Shinigami

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
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"-And we honor our fallen brethren... may Konoha never forget those among us who have fallen in her defense," Ibiki finished impassively. He had seen too many brave lives ended, too many families torn to be affected by it too deeply. He felt a pang of regret as he saw a small piece of paper on top of one of the tributes, the childish writing simply stating, 'I miss you'. He mentally slapped himself for his impassiveness, he was cold but he still had a heart damn it. ANBU Elite Morino Ibiki looked away from the crowd of mourners that had surrounded the black memorial stone, all paying thier respects, he looked away as his heart tore from within from the knowledge that today, some mother's child would not be returning home and never would again.

"ANBU funeral detail!" the Tokubetsu Jounin in charge of the ceremony called. "Salute!" all of the ANBU snapped to attention and saluting, some with tears streaming rather obviously from under their masks. "Present Arms!" the first twenty-one ANBU in the funeral column dropped their salutes and drew a kunai with a special explosive note on it, as one they all spun them with their right hands and lit the explosive notes with their left. "Tribute!" every kunai zipped off into the sky, burning brightly. All of the new members of ANBU who had never seen a funeral ceremony gasped as all the kunai exploded at once, the metal fragments bursting to flame and creating a display the likes of which they had never seen before. The flaming shards of metal quickly disappeared, consumed by the flames.

Shikamaru couldn't stop the tears that rolled down his face. He stood by the black memorial stone, seeing the five freshly engraved names, two which were horribly, horribly familiar, and thought only one thing, _'T.. This is all my fault..'_ he silently walked to the pictures that had been set up, the black cloth they had been bordered with flapping in the wind. He stared at the first picture, a blond girl who had always made fun of him for being lazy.. his first crush, one of his best friends, all in one, then switched his gaze to the second, a round boy, not fat or course, that word was taboo around him, the epitome of all loyalty. _'You shouldn't have believed in me Chouji..'_ Shikamaru thought, _'In the end neither of you should have... because I let you both down.'_

---

"Hey! Shikamaru! Come down here for a second!" his father yelled.

Shikamaru stood up, prying his back from his comfortable position on the roof, his annoyance evident in his posture. "Troublesome..." he muttered softly. The six-year old quickly walked down the stairs and almost ran straight into a pair of clear blue eyes.

"Hi! My name's Ino! What's yours?" she said quickly, brushing away the hair that constantly fell in front of her face.

Shikamaru bit back a question about why she didn't simply tie her hair up instead of constantly pushing it away, that wouldn't have been a good idea. "Shikamaru.." he said.

"Well it's nice to meet you Shikamaru! Did you know your dad is friends with my dad? Did you know they were in the same team when they were little? Do you think we're going to be in the same team? That would be cool!" Ino squealed quickly.

Shikamaru sighed, why did she have to talk so much? "Look, I already knew all of that." he said. "Your dad comes here all the time for dinner, not only that, they always talk about their old team so I knew that too," he quickly walked back up the stairs, Ino following him closely, and laid back down on the roof, his young eyes staring at the clouds.

Ino sat with him for a little while and suddenly jumped up, "This is boring!" she said. Shikamaru glanced up at her lazily as she drew her face within inches of his, "Why are we sitting here looking at the sky? It's boring!"

Shikamaru stifled a yawn and turned to the annoying, annoying girl. "You're so troublesome.." he muttered as he got up. "So what do you want to do?"

---

Nara Shikaku stood with his old team, the original Ino-Shika-Cho, his long-time friends had tears streaming down their faces, something that Shikaku found disturbing. He had known them since early childhood but had never really seen either cry, he suddenly realized how horrible the death of a child must be to a parent. He turned to his son who was still silently staring at the pictures of his two best friends and placed his hand gently on his shoulder, "Shikamaru... let's go.." he said.

Shikamaru shook his head slightly, "No... go on ahead," he muttered. Shikaku opened his mouth as if to say something but nodded and walked away, rejoining his friends and motioning for them to follow him. Shikamaru felt his heart sinking as Ino's father, Inoichi, simply shrugged off his father's consoling hand and continued to cry. Shikamaru felt a pang of sadness and guilt and walked to the grieving father. "I.. I'm so sorry Inoichi-sama..." he said. "I.. I was the commanding officer for the mission that Ino was killed in... it... it's all my fault that she's gone... I'm so sorry..." he turned to Chouji's father as well, taking a deep breath, "Same with Chouji, Choza-sama..."

Inoichi and Choza shot each other glances and stared at the crying ANBU commander before them, a sad and broken version of the Shikamaru they had known. "It's okay Shikamaru.." Inoichi said consolingly, trying to hide his own tears, "She died like a true ninja of Konoha... it's how she would have wanted to go..." he smiled sadly, "She died next to him, so I guess it wasn't painful..."

Choza nodded, "Chouji wouldn't want you to beat yourself up over this Shikamaru. You were his best friend... he trusted you with his life..."

"Yeah... I know... see where it got him?" Shikamaru said bitterly.

Choza shook his head quickly, "Don't say that, Chouji would be so angry if he heard you say that... look... Chouji died as a warrior, he had every chance to decline the mission beforehand. He took the mission because he knew that with you leading it, he had a better chance of coming back alive than with anyone else," he put a shaking hand on Shikamaru's shoulder, "And look at it this way... he died next to the woman he loved, what more could he want?"

Inoichi nodded solemnly, "Amen..." he said.

Shikamaru just nodded and turned away, his tears unceasing, "Well I'm going to go now.." he said as lightly as he could manage, "See you later," His father waved to him and he slowly walked away, his heart heavy. He was walking home when he, without thinking, walked by his genin team's old meeting spot, the Yakiniku Q barbecue store. Shikamaru just turned away from it and took the long way around, memories still echoing in his mind, no matter how hard he tried to stop them.

---

"SHIKAMARU!" Chouji shouted at the top of his lungs as he walked in. "Shikamaru!" Shikamaru looked up, watching the new couple walk in, both holding the other tightly, "SHE SAID YES!" Chouji yelled, his voice quivering with joy, "SHE SAID YES!"

Temari smiled, "Hey Chouji-san that's great!" she stood up and hugged the newly engaged couple, "I knew she would!"

Ino smiled, her eyes twinkling, "Thanks Temari-san! I'm so happy!" she looked different from the vain and shallow little girl they had known for so long.

Shikamaru stood as well and hugged his old friend, "I'm so happy for you Ino!" he said, he then patted Chouji on the back, "Just make sure you don't get whipped, man," he said, raising one eyebrow toward Temari to emphasize his point.

Temari quickly hit him on the shoulder, smiling at him threateningly, "What do you mean by that?"

He held his hands up in mock surrender, "Nothing Ma'am!"

Temari chuckled happily and hugged him fiercely, "We have a lot to celebrate today! You two are together AND Shiki-kun just got promoted to ANBU Elite,"

Chouji stared at his best friend, his face lighting up even more if it was possible, "Shikamaru!" he yelled, "You made Elite?"

"Yeah I have command over Squads Ten through Fifteen... they make me do paperwork and stuff... its really troublesome," Shikamaru said in his usual lazy tone.

Chouji smiled, it was just like Shikamaru to be annoyed at being promoted, "So now we have to call you 'Commander' all the time?"

Ino glared at him jokingly, "If you make us call you 'Commander' then we're going to tell everyone that Temari-chan calls you Shiki-kun!"

Shikamaru tried to remain stoic but failed, bursting into laughter, "How troublesome, then you can forget about calling me 'Commander'" he said.

Chouji smiled, pounding Shikamaru on the back heartily, "Just for that, I'll buy! We can't have the great ANBU Elite, Commander Nara Shikamaru paying could we?" The laughter of the friends echoed off the wall of the small restaurant.

---

Shikamaru wiped tears from his eyes as he fumbled in his pockets for his keys, "Stupid Chouji.." he muttered sadly, "He should have let me pay... he was the one who just got engaged.." Shikamaru opened the door and stumbled inside, he quickly opened a cabinet and withdrew a bottle of sake. Within ten minutes, most of it was gone.

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"Damn it!" Asuma yelled, drawing his trench knives across yet another Cloud-nin. "I thought you said you had a PLAN Kakashi!"

"I do,"

"This isn't exactly what I'd call a plan!" Asuma growled as he slammed a Cloud chunin to the ground. A Suiton jutsu flew toward him and he ducked, the water jutsu grazing his cigarette and putting it out. "Damn," he muttered, pulling another out of his vest pocket.

Gai jumped over a kunai and slammed two Rock ninjas' heads together, both of them falling to the ground in a crumpled heap. "Any time now my rival!" he yelled, "The fires of youth will hold strong," Kakashi sighed and Gai quickly spun low around the next several ninja knocking them down and quickly finishing them off with a quick flick of kunai.

Kurenai smiled as she deflected a kunai, "Aw, don't complain Asuma, you've been getting lazy lately anyway," she turned toward a Cloud chunin who was running toward her with a kunai and kicked the kunai out of his hand, she slammed her palm into his chest, causing him to drop to the ground, "But honestly Kakashi, if at some point you had a plan, this would undoubtedly be the best time for it,"

Kakashi squinted at both of his teammates, easily sidestepping a kunai, "Well I had come up with a plan earlier," he said haltingly. He gestured to the large boulder that the Rock and Cloud ninja had dropped in their path to cut them off, "But it involved being on the other side of this,"

"Great," Asuma said, ducking several shuriken and slamming the brass knuckles on his trench knives into a young chunin's face, "Well so now what?"

Kakashi began making seals, a loud chirping sound coming from the blue ball of chakra he was drawing, "We go through," he said.

Gai kicked away a kunai, causing it to flip upward and kicked it again as it flipped back toward its owner, the Cloud Chunin looked stunned as his own kunai impaled him through the neck. A rustling out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he nudged Asuma, "Cloud and Rock jounin," was all he said.

Kakashi turned, the amused expression wiped clearly off his face, "Damn," he muttered, still holding the jutsu in his hand, he pulled his hitae-ate up with his free hand and glanced at the bushes, "There's only two, Gai, you and I have that one, Kurenai, Asuma, take the other."

Asuma nodded, "Sure Kakashi," he dodged a barrage of rocks and pulled out a kunai. Kurenai quickly formed some seals and cast a genjutsu on the Rock jounin. The Rock jounin cursed as his world started to darken and madly attempted to cancel his chakra flow. He felt the darkness slip away and ducked under the first Leaf jounin's trench knives, barely dodging them. He cursed as the Leaf jounin channeled his chakra through the blades, causing a large cut to appear on his chest though the knives never touched him. "Hien!" Asuma yelled, cutting the Rock jounin's chest.

Kakashi turned around quickly and drew his hand back, he slammed the Chidori into the rock. The rock barely cracked. Kakashi cursed darkly, the boulder was reinforced with chakra. He began to form seals again, once again slamming his hand into the boulder. It cracked slightly more the second time but the boulder still held firmly. Kakashi looked over his shoulder at Gai, "Hey Gai, take that guy down by yourself, I think I'm going to be here a while,"

Gai smiled, trading blows with the Cloud jounin, "Youth will not fail me!" Kakashi just sighed exasperatedly and went back to pounding at the rock. Gai dodged a lightning jutsu and slammed his foot into the enemy jounin's leg, fracturing it and causing him to fall to one knee. The Cloud jounin formed seals so quickly his hands were a blur and sent several bolts of lightning flying at Gai. Gai simply preformed a Konoha Goriki Senpu, spinning so quickly the lightning didn't have enough time to heat up one single area of his body, failing to hurt him magnificently. "Surrender! Do not waste your life!" Gai commanded.

The Cloud jounin smirked and stood back up, clutching his fractured leg in pain, "No," he said, anger streaming from his voice. He started forming seals again and formed a ball of electricity in his hand, he slammed his hands together and pulsed chakra into the ground. "You're going to die for all of the people you killed!" the jounin screamed loudly. Several enormous bolts of electricity burst out of the ground, flying in random directions, the Cloud jounin slumped to his knees, his chakra completely exhausted.

Kakashi half-turned, the enemy jounin's chakra signature suddenly spiking. Kakashi saw a bright flash of light and froze as suddenly Gai was in front of him, shielding him with his body. Kakashi grimaced as a few stray bolts of electricity hit and burned him. Gai simply crumpled where he stood, his chest smoking. Kakashi quickly turned him over and stared at the damage, "Gai!" he yelled, "What was all that about?"

Gai struggled to focus his vision on his rival. He gave a shaky thumb-up and a smile, "That makes the record 89-89 Kakashi..." Gai coughed up a small amount of blood and passed out.

_'First Obito, now Gai..'_ Kakashi thought as he lifted the unconscious taijutsu master and slung him over his shoulder. _'What is his problem? We don't even like each other.. right?'_ He quickly checked the slightly taller jounin for any major injuries and cursed, they had to get back to Konoha immediately or he wouldn't make it. Kakashi drew a kunai and turned but relaxed when he saw that it was Asuma and Kurenai. "Other one down?" he said in a clipped tone.

Asuma glanced at Gai and then at Kakashi, "What happened?" he asked.

"He took a jutsu for me," Kakashi said bitterly, "We have to get him back to Konoha immediately," Kakashi turned back to the stubborn rock and began to form seals again. Enough was enough. He compacted the ball of chakra in his hand more tightly than normal and it began to turn a golden color, "Raikiri!" Kakashi slammed the ball of chakra into the boulder and flinched as it shattered, the strain finally overcoming it. "Let's go," Kakashi said, lifting Gai into a more easily manageable position and jumping off into the trees.

"What about Jiraiya-sama?" Kurenai yelled from the rear of the column.

"He'll be fine, he is a Sannin after all," Kakashi yelled back.

"I agree," a voice called from in front of them, "I'll be fine," Jiraiya called. "Now let's get the hell out of here."  
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Lee felt calm.. at peace, everything would be okay, simply because it was over. All of his struggles, his heartaches, they were over. He was pulled in a spread-eagled position... floating. Between the light and dark. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. The light in front of him blinding, the darkness behind him infinite. He just floated there, spinning ever so gracefully to the darkened side. He smiled, it was almost... comforting.

"Well mortal, it's about time another one of you showed up here," a booming and echoing voice below him called. Lee jerked and felt himself spinning toward the sound. Lee felt his eyes widen and the skin on his forehead crawl in fear. It was Shinigami, the God of Death. "Last time anyone got this far was twenty years ago... huh, you look just like him too," Shinigami said nonchalantly.

Lee felt his mouth open and babble something unintelligible. He took a deep breath and tried again, "S.. S.. Shinigami-sama..." he squeaked out.

The God of Death smiled at him, a sinister thing that made Lee want to crawl back inside himself and disappear. "So you opened the Eighth Gate? You're willing to give up your life?"

Lee took a deep breath, calming himself down, but only a little, "Yes Shinigami-sama," he squeaked out again, "I come to you to ask for the power to defend those who are precious to me.."

Shinigami nodded, the smile still on his.. or its.. face, "Why?"

"Because I must protect them..."

Shinigami shook his head, obviously displeased at the answer, "That's not what I was asking mortal, what I was asking is, why are you willing to do this? Why are their lives more important to you than yours? Why do you want to protect them?"

Lee swallowed hard, he had never, EVER, imagined that this was what would happen if he opened the eighth gate. He thought he would get a burst of strength like the other gates, collapse and die, not be interviewed by the God of Death itself. He almost chuckled at how odd his situation was. "I must defend those who are close to me... it is the duty of a ninja!" Lee quickly remembered what Gai-sensei had told him on several occasions and felt that this would be the best time to repeat it, "A ninjas true power only emerges when he is protecting the people he loves. So when the ones I love are in danger I will fight for them... without constraint nor fear for my own life..."

Shinigami smiled oddly, his eyes lingering over Lee's facial features and frowning, "Do you know a one, Maito Gai?" he asked quietly.

"He is my sensei Shinigami-sama,"

Shinigami smirked, "So that bastard finally pulled up the courage to send someone to me again? Kid, listen to me, forget everything you know about that bastard, he's fooling you,"

Lee swelled with anger, Gai-sensei had always been there for him. Always. He wouldn't just stand... float, here and listen to anyone ridicule him, not even the God of Death. "Gai-sensei is the best!" he yelled, "Now are you going to give me the power of the Eight Gate or not? My friends need my help!"

Lee shook with anger as Shinigami just chuckled. "Your power you will have..." he said softly. Lee flinched as suddenly Shinigami looked him in the eyes Lee felt his gaze waver as he felt Shinigami looking through him, to his very soul, "I can see you have a pure soul... well pure for a mortal... we'll talk again later..." Lee felt his body starting to vibrate and cried out in pain as suddenly a blue bolt of electricity hit him. Lee felt his body numb almost immediately afterward. Everything going dark once more.

Eagle Five blinked as suddenly the green wall of chakra surrounding Lee's body faded, "Lee-san? Lee-san!" she screamed, still tightly clutching the handkerchief he had given back to her in her hand. She gasped as she saw him, it was different from what she had seen when he went into the shell of green chakra.

Lee turned toward her, his eyes changing to a shade of deep red, "Sakura-chan do not worry... I will protect you.." he said simply. Eagle Five's eyes widened. Lee was shining brightly, he had turned white, completely white, and light seemed to literally be shining from him. The only color left on his body were his tattered clothes, his black hair which was starting to streak with white and his eyes which were slowly turning red. Itachi cursed as he felt the chakra emanating from Lee's body, even as far away as he was from him. Itachi charged forward, swinging his fist when suddenly Lee disappeared. Itachi looked around quickly in disorientation and grunted in pain as Lee brushed his side with a fist gently, breaking half of his ribs and causing several internal organs to bleed. Itachi stumbled away, his mind reeling, it was a grazing blow, not even a proper punch, what was going on? Lee stepped forward again, the ground under his feet compacting under the force of the chakra he was expelling. He suddenly exploded forward, dodging effortlessly under Itachi's guard and tapping his leg, shattering it. Itachi finally felt true fear, his mortality staring him full in the face. He drew a kunai, hobbling backward. Lee had never felt such power before... he felt invincible. He ran forward, appearing behind Itachi and waiting patiently for the elder Uchiha to turn around. Itachi blinked as he realized his enemy was gone again and spun around, the fear visible in his eyes. "Is that fear I see Uchiha?"he whispered softly, "I can not forgive those who hurt my friends..." Itachi drew back from Lee's enraged glare. He quickly tried to reform his Mangekyo Sharingan but failed, he had expelled too much chakra already. He hobbled away, his shattered leg aching horribly. Itachi suddenly felt himself be thrown upward, he was thrown so quickly that he blinked and was already several hundred feet above the ground. Lee took a deep breath and jumped upwards, appearing behind Itachi, Itachi was desperately trying to fight back but by that point it was much too late. Lee felt the chakra flow to his fists and spun his bandages completely off of his arms. Itachi's eyes widened as the bandages wrapped themselves around him, completely immobilizing him. Lee took a deep breath, this would be the final move. "Final Lotus!" he said, his words echoing all around him. Itachi struggled against the bandages only to find that it was futile. Lee slammed his fist into Itachi's chest and flung himself into him, forcing both of their bodies downward as fast as he could. Lee hit the ground and felt every bone in his body break at once. The gates slammed shut and he screamed in pain, he turned to look at Itachi, he was in the exact same state that he himself was in. Lee shuddered once and then went limp. His vision blacked out and he had no regrets.

Shinigami glanced up to him, "Kid, you need to learn how to control your gates, you're wasting too much strength simply opening them,"

Lee stared at the God of Death oddly, "What do you mean?" he said. He felt that maybe he should be polite but banished that thought from his mind. What would happen to him if he wasn't, was Shinigami going to order him to be killed? Lee chuckled slightly, covering the pain he felt from the separation from his friends with laughter.

"I mean when you open your third gate, you only access the equivalent amount of strength as a person who can open the Initial Gate efficiently. You can't keep using the Gates in this unrefined form, it could end up killing you," Shinigami smiled at him ironically.

"It no longer matters, does it Shinigami-sama..." Lee said.

Shinigami grinned oddly once again, "Did I say that?"

"But the Eighth Gate kills you!"

"Whoa, calm down," Shinigami commanded, "Did I say that at some point?"

"But Gai-sensei said..."

"Didn't I tell you never to mention that bastard in front of me ever again?" Shinigami roared. "I don't know what he told you, or why, but damn it, whatever he did tell you, is wrong."

"But.. how.. how do you know Gai-sensei?" Lee asked quietly.

Shinigami still looked angry but calmed down enough to answer the question, "Ask him yourself... if he can get up the courage to tell you that is..." Shinigami shrugged off further questions, "So, how does it feel to be the first in a thousand years to receive the connection to the world of the dead?"

"What?" Lee's mind was getting more and more muddled by the second.

"Why do mortals need everything explained to them?" Shinigami exploded, ranting angrily, "Humans always act like they know everything when they know nothing of the world at all!" he calmed himself down again, "Look, the Gate you know as the 'Death Gate' is misnamed,"

"What?" Lee said quickly, "Then I won't die? But then why am I still.."

"Would you wait two damn seconds and I'll tell you," Shinigami snapped, this was why he hated mortals, they didn't listen. He turned Lee to face the division between the area of blinding light and endless dark. "The darkness is that of your world, the world of the living, and the light is the world that the dead inhabit. Now.. all humans are capable of creating ties between both worlds, they have the innate ability to do so but first they must release all of their previous weak body's restraints... thus where the Celestial Gates come into play. The final gate of the body is misnamed by you humans, it's supposed to be the Bond Gate, not the Death Gate, you're here right now because I need to explain several things to you. You're not meant to die just yet."

Lee's mind was spinning with all of the new information, "Then why do so many people die when they open the final gate?"

"Because they simply aren't emotionally ready. You're right, a ninjas true power only appears when he is defending another, but the same can be said for all of humanity. The Bond Gate can only be safely opened the first time in the defense of another. If you open the Bond Gate in order to protect your own life, or for your own personal gain, you will die immediately after it fully opens. Only someone who enters with the knowledge that he may not return, yet is willing to sacrifice his life and dreams for another's life will be able to walk through the gate safely."

Lee paused, his mind slowly resolving itself, "S.. So I am not going to die Shinigami-sama?"

"You still don't have the foggiest damn idea of what's going on do you?" Lee shook his head and Shinigami gave an exasperated sigh, "How do you know you're dead if you've never been fully alive before? The Gates are preparation to link with the world of the dead, essentially becoming part of both worlds and drawing strength from both. The Bond Gate doesn't kill you unless you come for your own gain." Lee slowly nodded and Shinigami grinned, "There we go, you're starting to learn a little now. Now, the Bond Gate only affects you the first time, after you get out of here then you can open it at any time like any other gate. It'll be painful though, so unless you're a masochist I suggest you don't use it often. When you get back, immediately get some rest, the ceremony takes a lot out of you,"

Lee perked up at those last words, "What? What do you mean a 'ceremony' sir?"

"You coming here, this was 'the ceremony', I assume that no matter how cocky you are you can't quite top talking with the God of Death and have him tell you of the other gates,"

"O.. Other gates?"

Shinigami sighed, they never knew anything. "The Eight Celestial Gates of the Body are the only the first eight gates, the ones you can open yourself. The next level, the Three Gates of the Mind, can be influenced by you, but not directly opened through your actions. The level above that, the Two Gates of the Soul, you have no control over, they will open in time depending on your emotional level. Then is the Final Gate of Union, when you open that gate, and you may never open that gate, it all depends on how you live, you will become fully connected with both the worlds of the dead and the living. Any more questions?"

"How do I open those gates if I don't know anything about them?"

"They'll open when you need them, no sooner, no later,"

Lee shook his head slowly, trying to memorize the words he had just heard, "So... Eight of the Body, Three of the Mind, Two of the Soul, and One of Union?" Shinigami nodded and Lee frowned, there was something missing here, "But why am I capable of this while so many others are not? Why me? And why would I need to be bound tothe dead?"

"Honestly, It's because of the company you hold," Lee stared at him in confusion. "You and everyone around you serve a higher purpose that you will never quite comprehend, as for why you need to be bonded with the dead... it is simply because you are the only one capable... and because it will be needed before all is finished,"

"But.."

Lee's question halted as he felt himself start to fade again, he felt warmth, and a pulling sensation. "Hey kid," Shinigami said, smiling, "Looks like your friends want you back." He snapped his fingers and Lee suddenly found himself staring at his own limp body, he looked around in disorientation and realized that he must be watching what was happening to it.

"Damn it Lee!" Eagle Two yelled, ripping her mask off. She pulled the sleeve of both their uniforms up and quickly bit her thumb, making the same marks as before. "D.. Don't die..." she said softly, Lee blinked in surprise, it was the most tender voice he had ever heard Tenten use. "P.. Please come back Lee..."

"Lee-san! No!" Eagle Four screamed, Eagle Five had just revived the entire squad, it was unclear about what had happened to their squad leader from her words but Eagle Four's blood had frozen in her veins when she saw him lying in the large crater next to a equally still Itachi. She also pulled up the sleeve of her uniform, biting her thumb and painting an 'X' in her seal as well. She quickly ran next to Tenten who was already pumping chakra into Lee's body and put her hands on top of hers, adding her chakra to the effort.

"He really did it this time!" Eagle Three yelled, slamming her mask into the ground and biting her thumb, "Idiot always has to go and take stupid risks like that!" she placed her hands on top of the others, the chakra flow ever increasing.

Eagle Five tripped, her mask flying away. She quickly picked herself up, not even caring about the mask. Her hand tightened over the handkerchief Lee had handed her and she ran to Eagle Seven who was breathing shallowly. She pumped healing chakra into his body, instantly returning him to consciousness.

"Huh? Wha.." Eagle Seven started, looking confused.

"Lee-san!" Sakura gasped, "He needs help, he's dying! Hurry!" she yelled.

Eagle Seven stared at medic-nin for a few seconds before the weight of her words finally hit him, "WHAT?" he thundered, he quickly jumped to his feet and ran the way Sakura pointed, he drew his bleeding finger over his seal and quickly joined the others in pumping their chakra into Lee's still body.

Sakura felt tears falling from her eyes as she slowly stumbled back to Lee's body. His last words were still echoing in her mind, _'Sakura-chan... do not worry, I will protect you.'_ She fell to her knees next to the body and slammed her hands on his chest, forcing the rest of her chakra into him.

Naruto grimaced and walked up, "Can I help at all?" he asked quietly.

"There's a small drawback," Tenten said, her voice strained because of the amount of chakra she was pumping into her squad leader's body, "Only people with the Eagle seal can connect with another Eagle seal... sorry Naruto..."

Temari suddenly drew her hands away, her face drawn and pale, "I.. I have nothing left," she said weakly, making a brave attempt at a smile, "Sorry guys..."

Tenten nodded, "Kiba, Hinata, Sakura, if you feel like you're exhausting your chakra then pull away immediately.

"No..." Eagle Four said softly, pumping more chakra into the seal, gritting her teeth from the pain, "Would he stop if the roles were reversed?"

---

Hinata slammed her hand into the training post harder, leaving a scorched mark where the chakra she had pumped from her hand had hit it. Her palm cracked and started to bleed but she disregarded the pain. She quickly spun, striking the training post three more times, each time leaving a long bloody streak on it. She ducked low, slamming her hands upward and smacking the post at head level, "Hey guys! Let's get back already," Tenten yelled, sweat beading on her forehead. Most of the squad moved away from their training areas and slowly and stiffly walked away, Tenten turned to the last two people in the training area, "Hey Lee-san, Hinata-san, let's go!" she yelled.

Lee quickly slammed his fist into a training dummy, breaking it in half and snapping another with a well-aimed back kick. "You go ahead Tenten-chan, I have to train more," he said, panting. Hinata stopped her attack on the training post and glanced at the squad leader, he was spinning around striking at each dummy on the training area as fast as a cobra and knocking each down in turn. He paused as she glanced at him and smiled to her, his face covered in sweat, "Yes Hinata-chan?"

Hinata felt herself blush, she hadn't meant to disturb him from his training, "N.. Nothing Lee-san.." she said quickly and turned back to her training post, once again assuming her Jyuken stance and attacking it. She grimaced as the cut on her palm widened and stung as it caught on the uneven wood.

"Hinata-chan?" a concerned voice behind her called, Hinata looked back to see Lee rummaging in his pack and pulling out a bandage and some alcohol, "We have to clean that up Hinata-chan," he quickly walked up to her and opened her palm, flinching at the deep cut, "Hinata-chan, you should not train when you are injured. You could hurt yourself badly," he scolded, cleaning and dressing the wound.

"B..But you t.. train when you're injured all the time.." she said quietly.

Lee laughed, "I guess I do..." he finished treating her hand and smiled at her in a fond way that reminded Hinata of how Neji used to smile at her before he received the Caged Bird Seal, "Hinata-chan... if you wish, I can help you with your taijutsu..." Hinata stared at him and Lee laughed awkwardly, "If you do not want to, then do not worry, I just thought that perhaps you would want someone to help you train, after all, it is much more interesting to train with another person over training alone,"

"I.. If you w.. want to Lee-san..." she said quietly, "B.. But why?"

"Because Hinata-chan," he said in as gentle of a voice as he could manage, "Because you and I are the same..."

"W.. What do you mean Lee-san?" she stuttered, "I'm nowhere n.. near as strong as you.. or.."

Lee held up a hand, stopping her. "We both are trying to overcome our pasts through hard work, we both want to prove that we are not worthless, and we both hope the ones we love will one day recognize us... I think we are very similar..." Hinata smiled as he dropped into his Goken stance, "Shall we get started Hinata-chan?"

She nodded and dropped into her form as well. "Okay..." she said, "A.. And thank you... L.. Lee-san..." she said quietly.

---

Tenten nodded, her teeth grinding with the pain, "To the end then..." she said solemnly, pumping more chakra into his body.

Tears rolled silently down Lee's cheeks as he saw his friends all fight an impossible battle to bring him back, and he quickly spun around to face Shinigami, "Please send me back now Shinigami-sama!" he yelled, "They could die like that!"

Shinigami shook his head as he watched Lee's dead body glow blue from the amount of chakra that was pouring into it, "You mortals may be weak alone, but in packs, you're deadly..." he smiled and nodded, a bright light flashing.

Lee felt warm, like he was covered in a blanket. He opened his eyes groggily, "Lee-san!" a voice screamed. Lee turned to look at the owner of the voice when he was suddenly enveloped by several people. He blinked in disorientation and looked around. "Lee-san!" the voice called again.

"I can hear you..." he said, he was startled, he could barely hear his own voice. He felt something wet slide down his face and tried to reach up with his arm. It refused to move. "W.. Why can't I move my arm?" Lee whispered.

"You taxed your body too far Lee-san," the voice said again, "You almost... almost..." there was a fresh outburst of crying.

Lee turned his head, his vision blurring, he squinted and managed to see two people, "Kiba? Hinata-chan?"

Kiba tapped him on the shoulder, his eyes watery, "Damn it man.. don't ever, EVER do that again..."

Hinata nodded, "You scared us Lee-san... why did you do that?" her soft lavender eyes looked shocked as tears fell from her eyes.

Lee turned his head in the other direction, seeing the others, "Temari-chan... Naruto-kun... Sakura-chan, Tenten-chan?" he said, "What are all of you doing here? I thought I asked Sakura-chan to get you all out of here..."

Lee stiffened as Sakura suddenly hugged him tightly, "Lee-san..." she muttered, her tears wetting his uniform, "Lee-san... you didn't have to..." she said haltingly, "It hurt you so much... why.."

Lee smiled and lifted his other arm, grimacing from the effort and wiped away her tears, "Because I made a promise..."

Naruto looked oddly serious, "You okay thick-brows?" he said softly.

Lee chuckled, "Yes... I am fine..."

"Hah... I guess even weaklings have to have lucky days..." a voice behind them remarked dryly.

"Shut up!" Kiba roared, pulling out a kunai, "Shut up or I'll kill you myself, Sasuke!"

Tenten pulled him back down, "Kiba, calm down, its what he wants you to do... we still have a mission to complete." she calmly stood and walked over to Sasuke who was bound with zip-ties and lying on the ground some twenty or so meters away. She kicked him roughly and stuffed a gag she had made from a part of her rucksack into his mouth, "But seriously, I am tired of listening to his shit..."

"Leave Sasuke-kun alone!" Sakura yelled, striding over to him and pulling the gag out. "He said he'd come back with us to Konoha right? We shouldn't even have to tie him up like that!"

Temari chuckled, "So we trust him just because he says we should? After he betrayed us once before? No... I don't think so... if we did we'd be incredibly stupid, and would deserve to die,"

Sakura turned to Naruto, "You still trust him, right Naruto?"

Naruto looked away, his eyes narrowing, "I wish I could Sakura-chan..."

Sakura's stare passed to each member of the ANBU squad in turn, "So.. no one believes in him?" she said quietly, "Well... I do... and that should count for something,"

"That doesn't mean anything," Temari snapped, "You're trusting him after he almost killed Naruto, Kiba, and Hinata... he doesn't deserve any damn trust,"

Lee sat up, wincing, his body was numb but he could still feel the searing pain when he moved a limb. "We need to move back to base camp, there we can recover from our injuries and have a secured area to plan our return to Konoha," he winced as he tried to stand up but failed, falling back down heavily.

Tenten pulled on her mask, "Need some help Lee?" she asked, she quickly summoned two long staves and tied them together with some strips cut from her rucksack, making an impromptu stretcher. "Hop on," she said cheerfully, taking one end while Temari took the other.

Kiba watched his squad leader slowly climb on the stretcher and turned, gesturing back toward Sasuke, "Who's carrying the traitor?"

"His name is Sasuke, dog boy!" Sakura spat, "And I'll carry him!"

"No," Lee said softly.

Sakura turned and stared at him, her eyes incredulous. "What do you mean 'no'?" she yelled, receiving glares from most of the veteran ANBU in the area.

Lee took a deep breath, "You and Naruto-kun are too close to Sasuke, if he tries to escape you will most likely try to reason with him and he may escape again... normally I would take him but my injuries make me unable to... so Kiba, you do it,"

Eagle Seven A saluted, adjusting the final clasp on his mask, "Yes, sir!" he picked up Sasuke and flung him effortlessly over his back, earning an enraged glare from Sakura.

"Eagle Two, I hereby relieve command to you," Lee gasped and promptly passed out.

"You heard him," Eagle Two ordered, "Move out!"

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"I'm sorry Kakashi, we did all we could.. would you like to see him?"

"Yeah..."

"My rival..." Gai said weakly as Kakashi entered the room, "What feat should we partake in this time? Janken? A taijutsu tournament? A swimming competition?"

Kakashi noted the weakness in Gai's voice, weakness was not something that associated easily with the gigantic man, "How are you feeling Gai?" he said.

Gai shrugged, his usual grin failing to come to his face, "It seems the springtime of my youth has ended," he said.

Kakashi shook his head quickly, "No Gai, you still have plenty of things to do, you can't die now... it would be... unyouthful remember?"

Gai shrugged, "I cannot help that," he said, "But I will hold on until my current team and my old team come to visit me... if I cannot I will do three hundred laps around Konoha..."

Kakashi smiled, "Gai.." he said softly, "Why did you do that?"

"Because I want to see my teams..."

"Not that you idiot..." Kakashi pointed to the large wound, "That,"

Gai shrugged again, "We're rivals, if I saved your life it would have tied us up..." he said smiling, "And I guess I always thought of you as my friend..."

Kakashi looked away, _'Why do I only realize I have friends after they sacrifice themselves for me...' _he thought grimly. "Yeah..." he said, "I guess we were friends after all Gai..." Kakashi smirked suddenly, "Want to play another game of Janken?"

"The record stands at 89-89, I will defeat you Kakashi! If I cannot then I will do three hundred pushups!"

Kakashi sighed, it was still the same old annoying Gai, "Just play the damn game.." he muttered.

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Lee awoke suddenly to the sound of arguing. "He's not a threat!" Sakura yelled, "He needs to be treated as a human being at least!"

Eagle Two matched her stare, both of them looking equally angry, "Uchiha Sasuke is a traitor.. he gave up all of his human rights when he defected from our village,"

"That's not the point!" Sakura yelled, "He's still Sasuke! He's still the same person he was before! He can change!"

"Some people can't change," Eagle Three said quietly.

"Shut up Temari!" Sakura snapped, "You're Gaara's sister, you have no right to say someone can't change!"

"Gaara went from a monster to a saint, Sasuke went from a monster to a demon..."

"Gaara was never a monster," Naruto said slowly, "Its just everyone around him that made him into what he was, you have no idea what you're talking about,"

"Well that's beside the point," Eagle Two said calmly, "Because he's staying tied up, and that's the end of the conversation,"

Sakura still looked angry. "Lee-san," she called as she watched him sit up, "Are you feeling better now?"

Lee smiled, "A little..." he said, glancing around at his squadmates, "What were you all arguing over?"

"Well Lee-san..." Sakura began, "Sasuke said that he would come with us peacefully and they still have him tied..."

"Stop being so naive!" Eagle Seven A snapped, "He betrayed us once, we're just gonna trust him now because he asked us?"

"Well I say we trust him until he gives us a reason not to!"

"He DESERTED us for that weird snake sannin, what about that is NOT a reason for us to distrust him?"

"Shut up Kiba!"

Naruto sighed, "Look Sakura-chan, we need to consider what Sasuke's done, he can't really be forgiven so easily..."

The entire squad turned to Naruto, their eyes incredulous, "Did Naruto just say that?" Eagle Three said, "No way..."

Lee chuckled, "Well I guess Naruto-kun is right, I am sorry Sakura-chan but Sasuke will have to remain bound until we get him to Konoha," Sakura huffed in annoyance and stomped over to Sasuke, conversing with him in low tones. "So Eagle Two..." Lee said, grimacing from the pain shooting up and down his body, "What is the situation?"

Eagle Two nodded, "Well, all of us are suffering from overusing our chakra, Eagle Seven has bad burns over a third of his chest, Eagle Four's ribs were broken but they're repaired now, they should be better soon. Naruto seems to be in the best shape, his injuries are healing up quickly... myself, Eagle Three, Four, and Seven are all low on weaponry... and we have internal disputes," she added quickly, pointing toward the irritated looking Sasuke.

Lee brushed his hair away from his eyes, he hadn't cut it in a while and it was beginning to curl at the sides again like it did before he started dressing like his sensei. "Understood," he said. He paused, his eyes frozen to Eagle Two's hitae-ate. The mirror-like metal of the hitae-ate shone back brightly and Lee quickly brought his hands to his hair. It had been streaked with white. "W.. What happened?" he asked quietly.

Eagle Two shrugged, "I wasn't there, ask Sakura, she was the only one still conscious when it happened..."

"Sakura-chan..." Lee called.

"Yeah Lee-san?" an irritated voice called back.

"May I talk to you?"

She quickly walked over to him, her eyes annoyed, "Lee-san, if this is about my attitude toward Sasuke then you can just stop right now because I'm not going to listen,"

Lee opened his mouth in confusion and closed it again, his expression startled. "That's not what he wanted to talk to you about, stop being so defensive," Eagle Two snapped.

"Sakura-chan..." Lee started, "What happened to me after I opened the Eight Gate?" he looked up at her, his now blood-red eyes peering at her, the confusion apparent in his eyes.

"You... you were enclosed in a shell of chakra... then when you came out... you were white... completely white. Your eyes changed color and you hair started to streak... it was pretty scary..."

"Oh.." Lee said, pulling out a kunai and staring at his reflection in the dull metal, _'Red eyes...' _he mused, _'I don't understand...'_ he quickly pushed the confusion from his mind, they had more important things to do. He quickly spun around as he heard rustling behind him, "Eagle Four!" he yelled, "Scan the area for enemies!"

"Sir!" she yelled, quickly activating the Byakugan. She gasped as she realized who it was. She deactivated her blood limit and turned shakily to Lee, "Ne.."

Lee quickly reholstered the kunai with a groan. "Great..."

Three ANBU walked out of the trees in front of them. They were wearing ANBU regulation armor but their masks were blood red instead of the white of the usual ANBU divisions. "Where is your squad leader," the squad leader said roughly.

Lee stood and saluted, his arm hurting badly, "Eagle One, Squad Leader of ANBU squad fifteen,"

The other leader scrutinized him carefully, taking in the tattered and torn state of his uniform, "You're the squad leader of this motley bunch?" he chuckled, shaking his head, "What is your problem? You don't even have a mask... what kind of discipline are you trying to enforce?"

Eagle Seven jumped up, his glare burning onto the three Ne operatives, "Shut up," he growled, "We've been on a mission direct from the Hokage, it was rated ANBU S class. You pathetic Ne operatives apparently don't understand what the term 'mission' means right? It means we were out doing something useful to Konoha, unlike yourselves"

"Eagle Seven, at ease," Lee said, Eagle Seven continued to glare at the three ninja but kept his comments to himself, "Ne Leader, I suggest you immediately tell me what your mission is, or leave. Whichever you prefer,"

"Supreme Commander Danzou has dispatched us to execute the traitor Uchiha Sasuke,"

"What?" Sakura yelled, "We were supposed to bring him back,"

"Sakura... be silent" Lee said softly. "We received direct orders from the Hokage to deliver Uchiha Sasuke to her alive, Commander Danzou does not have the authorization to relieve us of those orders... we do not report to Ne's chain of command,"

A low ranking Ne operative nudged the squad leader, "Huh, this is what we get for attempting to reason with the Hokage's dogs..."

"Excuse me?" Eagle Two snapped, "All ANBU units report directly to the Hokage! It seems your loyalties don't lie in the right places,"

The squad leader slowly drew a kunai, spinning it nonchalantly, "We report only to Supreme Commander Danzou..." he pointed to Sasuke menacingly, "You will hand the traitor over to us,"

Lee strode up to the Ne squad leader, matching his menacing look exactly, glaring down at the shorter ninja. He hoped that it wasn't too obvious that he could barely move, "No,"

A member of the Ne squad slowly drew a katana, his dark eyes, seeming cut from the blackest stone, focused on the squad leader, "Captain..." he said, addressing the Ne squad leader, "Permission to remove the annoyance,"

Eagle Two and Four suddenly ran forward, "Over my dead body," Eagle Two yelled, pulling out another katana.

Naruto just stared in confusion as the respective ANBU squads sized each other up. "You will leave immediately," Lee said quietly, his voice filled with a silent menace Naruto had never heard before.

"No,"

Eagle Three quickly grabbed Sakura and backed away from the small group, neither of them would be much use in a battle because they were very low on chakra. "Ne leader... I do not wish for a battle but if you continue to impede our mission it will be inevitable.." Lee said.

The two other Ne operatives drew their swords as well. "Well I guess that's our answer," Eagle Seven A muttered softly.

Lee quickly drew a kunai, still staring the other squad leader down, "Ne leader... leave..." it was no longer a request, it was a command. Lee slowly reached into his vest pocket, pulling out a small red pill and swallowing it, he felt new power course through his body and stood a little straighter, "Ne leader, we have orders that override yours, if you insist on this course we will be forced to fight you,"

"Oh shut up," the low ranking Ne operative said casually.

"That's captain to you!" Eagle Seven yelled, "Show some damn respect,"

"Respect for what? He doesn't look so tough," the Ne operative shot back.

"That's does it!" Eagle Seven yelled, running toward the impudent Ne operative.

Lee quickly grabbed Eagle Seven by the back of his uniform as he ran by and pulling him back. "Eagle Seven, stand down," Eagle Seven still looked angry but he walked away, silently seething. "Ne leader, this is your last warning, you will leave immediately and report to Commander Danzou that he insufficient authority to order us away from a mission given to us by the Hokage,"

The low ranking Ne operative began to walk forward, his eyes sparkling with bloodlust when suddenly the Ne leadermotioned for him to stop, "Stop Blue Three," he said softly, turning back to Lee, "ANBU leader, we will leave now..." he motioned to his unit and they jumped away quickly. "And if we ever meet in the field again.. friend or foe... I'll kill you," he threatened. He quickly jumped to his squad and disappeared away into the undergrowth.

Lee let out the breath that he had been holding in, he quickly sat down as the energy left his body, "That was close.." he muttered. He glanced at his squad, they all looked as relieved as he did, "Eagle Two, Four, and Seven, scout out our perimeter and see if the Ne operatives really left... Eagle Three, Naruto, Sakura break camp and prepare to return to Konoha with all haste,"

"Yes sir!" rang through the clearing as everyone set out to do their job.

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Kabuto slowly slunk down from a tree, pushing his glasses higher on his face. He walked over to Itachi's still body and checked it for a pulse, Kabuto smiled as he was awarded with a weak heartbeat. He quickly picked up Itachi's body and chuckled as he jumped toward his master's location, _'Orochimaru-sama will be pleased.. they defeated Itachi just as he had hoped...' _

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Lee sighed as they finally caught sight of the Konoha gates. He motioned for his squad to move a little faster and flashed his ANBU Captain's identification. Several I.D checks and monotonous security checks later, they were back inside. "Where do we take this thing?" Eagle Seven asked, pointing at Sasuke.

"I guess we should take him to the Hokage," Lee said.

"Lee-san!" a voice yelled, and Lee turned around. "Lee-san!" Shizune yelled. She slowed to a walk as she saw that his hair and eyes had changed colors. "Lee-san?" she said quizzically.

"Yes Shizune-san?"

Shizune quickly shook her head, putting her mind back on the task at hand, "Lee-san, you're needed at the hospital..."

"Why?"

"It's Gai-san, he's been injured badly, he wants to talk to you,"

"Gai-sensei?" Lee yelled. Shizune blinked as suddenly Lee literally disappeared in front of her eyes.

"Captain!" Eagle Two yelled, "What about the debriefing? We need to go complete our mission!" she sighed, he was too far away to hear her. She motioned to the rest and nodded, "Let's go."

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Story Related notes: Janken: Rock, Paper, Scissors. I didn't feel like writing Rock Paper Scissors over and over so I just used Janken, and I think Janken just sounds cooler. (shrugs)

Shinigami: Japanese God of Death

ANBU Ne: The ANBU "Root" division that Danzou commands directly. More will be revealed about it later.

I will try to keep as up to date with the current manga as humanly possible, spoilers will abound. You can find a link to a free Naruto scanslation group in my profile if you wish to catch up.

Almost completely irrelavent Notes: Well here it is, just as I promised. Chapter Five on the Fourth of July! I just had to post today of course since its my birthday. And since it's my birthday, please review! That would be a very nice gift! Thanks for reading! I apologize but I can't guarantee my update time this week, I leave on the 5th to go to Oregon and return on the 9th, and I can't write over there so the next update will be in about a week and a half or two weeks, depending on whether or not the writer's block fairy is working with or against me. Happy Fourth of July all! DEFINITELY PLAY WITH FIREWORKS! (Salutes)

**Please review!** It keeps writers writing. (And its my birthday XD)

-I have a special request, a recent review has brought to my attention a serious problem. I need a beta reader to help me point out things that are odd and insure quality by providing a second opinion. If someone could find it in their heart to indulge my request I would really appreciate it. Please message my account about it if you're interested. Of course you will get credit for beta-ing the work and of course get to see the chapter before everyone else. I can't promise much, but I CAN say that I would appreciate it forever. Thanks!-

_This chapter dedicated to anime girl 987 as it recently came to my attention that it is her birthday on the 5th of July. Happy birthday anime girl987!_

Review Replies:

**anime girl987:** Happy Birthday! It's my birthday today and since it's yours tomorrow I decided to dedicate this chapter to you! Yeah... like I said before I'll do my best to update as often as I can, at least once a week but I'm not sure when the next time I can update is. I have to go to Oregon for a week and I can't write there so apparently the next update will be in two weeks, sooner if I can manage it but I dunno, I'll do my best though.

**SapphireWhiteTigress:** Thank you so much for your kind comments! They were really very heartwarming and gave me a real boost in determination. As long I have reviewers who are as nice as you the chapters come flying out. Thank you for wishing me a happy birthday too by the way, thanks so much, it really made my day! Oh btw, here's some irony, I just got done with the part of Lee's hair streaking white after his "experience" when I checked fanfiction and saw your story of Lee dying his hair green. I couldn't write for an entire hour, I would look at the part I wrote and start laughing insanely, I actually considered for a few seconds changing it from streaking white to green. Lol. Btw, it was a VERY funny story.

**VASD1:** (Salutes) I SHALL NOT LET YOU DOWN!

**Kristen:** Wow, do I really deserve such praise? Thank you so very much! I defintely don't deserve such kind words... but I do appreciate them, thank you! I'm so glad you liked it and I'm happy that I'm not the only one who thinks that Lee actually has some use in the story other than "that funny green guy with the uber-brows" Thanks again!

**Raziel Toope:** Yeah... about the 40k words thing.. I guess I'm kinda wordy... lol. It just seemed to me that there was no really serious stories with Lee as a major character, he's either a minor character or a comedic one. Personally I think we've explored Naruto deeply enough, he's been quite thoroughly mapped out and we know his personality pretty well. It just seemed a challenge to me to show Lee, Hinata and some other minor characters in a different light and this is how I think they would actually talk and act when they get older and the idea of a Lee-centric fic appealed to me greatly. I'm sorry it took you so long to read... hope you didn't fall asleep in the middle of it, and yes, like promised, I somehow magically was able to pull off this chapter by the 4th. Yay I kept my promise! Lee would be proud. Thanks for the review!

**QuietChick:** Wow, how do you do it? You time your reviews just right so they get spots like the 13th and 20th. Hahaha. Anyway, I was only kinda joking about the whole 13 thing, I looked at my review count a day before I was gonna post and went "13... um... maybe I should wait for one more..." hehe, not that I'm highly superstitious but honestly weirder stuff has happened to me on anything associated with 13 (Winning each round in a martial arts tournament and getting a freak injury in the 13th (3rd to last) round which eventually makes me lose or hurts like a #$& for the rest of the week) Congrats on getting the 20th review! It was my first goal, my goals are in increments of ten now, my next goal is 30 reviews now! Thanks! (Hope I didn't scare you too bad... XD) BTW: You're the author of A New Beginning, right? The LeeHina fic? It was really good! Very funny! I was wondering where I thought I saw your name before. (I liked the part when Hiashi freaks out and tells Neji that the clan is his if he just kills Lee XD)

**The Universal Cynic:** I'm so sorry you disliked this story so intensely, I did my best to make all of the charachters how I believed they would act in the future. I honestly don't share your sentiments on Hinata and Lee however. Hinata trains hard and I believe that by the time she gets as old as she is in this particular story (not giving that away just yet) she will be more of a Lee-esque figure, a loser who rises to greatness. Lee is not stupid for using taijutsu, he never was, saying that is similar to saying Naruto is a genius because he can use ninjutsu, Lee flat out can't use jutsu, it's not that he prefers to "punch people in the face" it's that it's all he can do. Lee is actually quite intelligent, during the Chunin Exams he had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the Jyuken and Hyuuga Clan, showing a knowledge of them that rivaled even Kakashi's, he is also the type that would most likely have studied harder than everyone else at the academy, he uses taijutsu to his advantage, something that is a good, sound strategy since most of the ninja in Naruto only rely on jutsu, letting their taijutsu skills slowly die away, it would stupid for him to NOT use that to his advantage. Lee even shows his deductive reasoning during the Chunin exams, he deduces that to penetrate the Sabaku no Tate (Shield of Sand) he had to put extreme pressure on it at its weakest point, the head, thus determining he should use the Omote Renge (Initial Lotus) attack and it may very well have broken through had his attack connected. Naruto is a manga and anime about ninja, that's what they are. This isn't in the eyes of a regular team, this is the ANBU, a group of ninja who have missions far more deadly and important, thus lending itself to a military appearance so they won't die quickly, as I said at the beginning, it seemed to me that the ANBU would be more tactically and soundly based on a miltary unit than the genin cells, after all ANBU have to take more risks and fight more powerful enemies than genin. I apologise once more but I believe that everyone can change and that is my basis on Hinata, and I will stick to it. Please forgive me, I had really meant to write a good story, I'm sorry you felt such deep dislike for it. I did try to the best of my ability to write an interesting and somewhat innovative story.. if that is any condolence. Again, I'm so very sorry I failed to meet your expectations and wasted your precious time, I'll continue to try to improve my writing skills but I will not implement some of the changes you suggested, I just don't see that in my mind as what would happen. I'm sorry. Thank you for your honest opinion. Sometimes what we need to hear isn't neccasarily what we want to hear... even if it is a bit... hurtful... I will take some of the things you said to heart. I overflow with apologies. Sorry for wasting your time, a reader reads a story for thier enjoyment and I have apparently failed to do so for you, I have no excuse for this grave injustice. I swear to try harder from here on. Please forgive me.

Thanks again to all my wonderful, wonderful reviewers (points to them)... and the not so good ones as well, they're what keeps the heart of this story alive. Thanks for all your encouragement!

And as a final note: Please review, it may not seem such a big deal to you, but for the writers who receive them, they can make a huge difference.


	7. Chapter Six: Remembrance

Eagle One

Chapter Six: Remembrance

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...

**Beta credit and special thanks to: SapphireWhiteTigress**:  
_This would be **nowhere** as good without her.  
She's an amazing writer, Beta, and friend.  
I am truly truly lucky to have her behind me.  
You're only as good as those who inspire you  
and she definitely inspires me when things get  
tough. So thank you SapphireWhiteTigress.  
For everything.  
_

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"Um..." the nurse at the front desk muttered, "W.. We can't allow you in to see him.. he's in critical condition.. he's requested only his previous genin teams be let in to see him..."

"I was on his last team, now tell me which room he is in!" Lee yelled, his voice bouncing off the walls and causing everyone in the reception area to jump.

"Sir... I'm going to have to ask you to calm down.."

"I am calm!" Lee stormed, "I cannot become any calmer than I am now! Now tell me which room he is in!"

"Sir... I'm going to have to ask you to leave..." the receptionist said, waving to two interns who were slowly walking up.

"You need to leave now sir.." the larger intern said, trying to pull Lee toward the door.

Lee snapped, he wrenched his arm from the intern's grip and knocked both of them out with quick elbows to the head. He angrily walked back to the receptionist's desk, "Tell me,"

"Room 215, second floor, it's on the right," the frightened receptionist quickly mumbled.

Lee quickly ran upstairs, accidentally knocking one or two visitors down. Normally he would have stopped to help them up, but today was no normal day, not even close. He frantically looked for the room and immediately burst in. "Gai-sensei!" he yelled.

"Lee..."

Neji nodded toward him, "Lee," his forehead creased as he saw the state that Lee was in. His clothes were still torn and tattered, and his armor was warped and cracked, it looked like he had just come back from a mission... but no.. not even Lee would be that stupid... would he? "You look like you just got through hell.." he remarked dryly.

Lee frowned as he remembered everything, the Tsukiyomi, the flames, Shinigami.. but quickly forced his mouth into a smile, "You have no idea how much truth your words hold.." he said. He quickly turned to his sensei, bowing as deeply as he could, "Gai-sensei! I am here now.."

"My youthful student! Lee!" Gai said weakly. "I'm so happy I could see you one last time.."

"Do not say such things Gai-sensei," Lee said, frowning, "Your youth will prevail and..."

"My springtime has ended Lee.." Gai said sadly, grasping his protege's arm tightly.

"No Gai-sensei!" Lee yelled almost hysterically, "We can get Tsunade-sama and she can heal you and you will be okay!"

"Tsunade-sama has already been here,"

Lee fell into a chair next to the stark white hospital bed heavily, burying his face into his hands, "B.. But Gai-sensei... Tsunade-sama c.. can heal you... right?"

"She said there was nothing she could do... we must accept that Lee,"

"No!" Lee yelled, "There has to be some way! From hard work comes success! Right sensei? If that is true then you will survive because you put so much hard work in your life!"

"Neji, could you leave for a few minutes please?" Gai said seriously. Neji nodded and left, his eyes filled with confusion. Gai turned back to Lee, his expression more serious than ever, "Lee, how much do you know about me?"

"Um.. Gai-sensei... I do not understand.."

"I graduated from the Academy at the age of seven, then I was put into a three man genin cell under the supervision of Gekko Sanmyu, the originator of the Mikazuki no Mai kenjutsu style... my team took the Chunin Selection exams our second year of being genins, I was promoted to chunin during my first exam, at nine years old. I was then promoted to jounin at the age of seventeen, just like you. I was promoted the exact same day as a young Kakashi, he was four years younger of course. I fell in love with a beautiful girl named Akaido Yumi, we fell in love together and married, I was eighteen... we had a child only a year after that... we were so happy... but then the Kyuubi attacked... and I made the biggest mistake of my life.."

---

"Yumi! Yumi!" A twenty year old Maito Gai yelled. Most would not even recognize him as the same Gai that lay in the hospital bed. He was wearing a chunin vest over a set of black robes, not a speck of green on his body, and his hair was not in the bowl-cut everyone had become so accustomed to, it was long and tied back in a ponytail, his usually jovial face drawn and worried, Gai looked... normal. "Yumi?" he yelled, running into a house quickly.

"Yes dear?" a quiet voice replied. A calm looking woman, only about nineteen herself emerged from the room, cradling a small infant. "Don't shout so loud, you'll wake him up..."

"Yumi! We have to leave right now!"

"But why?"

"Kyuubi no Yoko has been spotted moving this way, we have to hurry, he'll be here in an hour!" Gai yelled as he quickly threw clothes and food into a sack.

"Yondaime can handle it right?" she said anxiously, "We can trust the Hokage..."

"We're not taking any chances!" Gai yelled, slamming more food into the sack, and starting to fill another, "We need to leave before it gets here,"

An elder Uchiha guard poked his head inside the building, "Gai!" he yelled.

"Sir!"

"Evacuate your wife and kid to the mountain, we only have room for a few more people, Kyuubi is moving faster than anticipated. We need you on the front line,"

"Aido.. Sir! Please let me stay with my wife and son! There's no way you could need me that badly!"

"Gai... you're coming with us... right now, get your family out of the house and follow me, they can find their own way to the mountain,"

"Sir!" Gai cried in protest but the door slammed in his face. He slowly dropped the sacks he had been filling and kissed his wife, his eyes brimming with tears, "Be safe..." he said softly, his voice breaking. He turned sadly, walking out the door and explaining to his wife the best way to get to the mountain's secret stronghold. Ten minutes later he was in full battle gear, katana in hand and awaiting the most destructive being known to man.

The demon fox stared impassively at the line of brave ninja who were standing before it, the Yondaime at the front, his blond hair flapping lightly in the breeze. "Kyuubi-sama, what business do you have in our humble village of Konohagakure? We have done you no wrong,"

A harsh laugh echoed around the area as the enormous kitsune flung out a paw, Yondaime's eyes widened as he quickly used a Hiraishin no Jutsu to teleport all of his men out of the area. Yondaime felt a cold shiver crawl down his back as suddenly the ground was literally rent in half. "Tell ANBU squad five to move up the left side and distract it while the special ops division moves in close to take it down," Alpha Commander ordered. "We need to keep the damn thing away from the village no matter what!"

Yondaime watched as suddenly the Kyuubi let out a horrifying roar and slashed one of its many tails toward the swiftly approaching ANBU squad. Yondaime winced as the ANBU were decimated and screams floated through the air. "Damn it.." Bravo Commander groaned, "We can't even get close to it..."

Kakashi slowly picked himself up, he was the only one left out of his squad. He shakily lifted his hitae-ate and began to form seals, the Chidori glowing brightly in his hand. The Kyuubi just stared at the impudent young ninja and launched a bolt of lightning toward him. Kakashi's eyes widened and he pumped more chakra into the Chidori, pulling all of his chakra into it, and compressing it as tightly as he could manage, his life depended on it. The lightning bolt was too close, much too close, "CHIDORI!" Kakashi roared, shooting the Chidori at the lightning bolt. The two opposing beams nullified each other but the Chidori eventually won out, slicing cleanly through the lightning bolt and flying toward the Kyuubi. Kyuubi just stared at it, surprised and deflected it with one tail. Kakashi felt his consciousness leaving him, he had used too much chakra. He collapsed on the ground, senseless.

Yondaime quickly threw a kunai toward the downed Kakashi, activating the anchor seal and appearing next to him. He lifted his unconscious student and touched his earring, activating the anchor seal on the earring he had dropped on the ground earlier.

Alpha Commander blinked as suddenly Yondaime appeared in front of him, "So what's the plan?" he said, layinghis unconsciousstudent on the ground carefully. "He's too strong for a frontal assault..."

Alpha Commander opened his mouth to say something but was silenced by a rumbling. "Alpha Commander!" the reconnaissance jounin yelled, "Kyuubi has penetrated the second and third defensive buffers, sir! He's approaching the first line of sleepers!"

Kyuubi slowly walked over the first barrier, crushing a chunin who was struggling to stand deftly. ANBU Captain Enryu Hoji held up his hand, three fingers up. Kyuubi drew closer and closer to the hole in the ground, not knowing that there was a trap under the seemingly flat ground.

Captain Hoji peeped through the hole in the blanket one more time, Kyuubi was getting closer. He took a deep breath. "Sleepers?" Yondaime said, "What are sleepers?"

"Sir, it would be easier for you to watch than for me to explain," Bravo Commander said.

Kyuubi was getting close, frighteningly close. Hoji took a breath, once again holding up his hand, three fingers up. His team nodded, gripping their kunai tightly. Hoji noticed that several of his team's hands were shaking badly. Two fingers. Kyuubi was close, he started sniffing, possibly smelling them. Hoji froze, his hand motioning in a slashing gesture over his neck. The squad quickly dropped their kunai and tried to return to the crouched positions they were in before. The Kyuubi turned around and slammed its tail into a groaning jounin, killing him instantly. Hoji grimaced at the scene but held his fingers up again, his squad scrambling to get to their positions. Three. Kyuubi was close... and only getting closer. Two. Kyuubi was almost right on top of them, Hoji could see the slitted pupils of the beast. One. Kyuubi ambled through the area, it was much too easy, Konoha had obviously underestimated his power, the fools. Kyuubi looked down at a movement that caught his eye, the demon lord's eyes widened as suddenly the stealth blanket covering the hole was suddenly ripped to the side, raining dirt and dust into the hole the squad had been hiding in, and several ninja leapt out, each ninja throwing several kunai and javelins at the demon lord.

Kyuubi winced as a javelin went through his paw and slammed all of the other projectiles away with its many tails. He swiped at two ninja, slicing them open, their screams of pain mingling with the muffled shouting of their squad leader. The little rats were running from him, Kyuubi felt a surge of annoyance and ran after them. The ninja all ran behind some rocks further ahead and Kyuubi smiled, rocks... they thought rocks would protect them? They were wrong. Kyuubi drew an enormous amount of chakra into his paw, ready to obliterate the ninja when suddenly there was another scraping sound and several sleepers jumped out of the hole he had just walked over. Kyuubi growled as several kunai hit him, failing to penetrate his skin, and he used his tails to quickly bat the ninja into the ground and kill them.

Yondaime frowned as he saw his fellows being killed by the Kyuubi, "Surely there's a better method than that?" he said, "We're losing men pointlessly!"

"Sir, there's no other way,"

"I'm going out there myself,"

"Sir! We can't allow that!"

Gai fidgeted, his palms sweating. He wondered if his wife and son was okay, he hoped they had gotten to the shelter. "Hey Gai, calm down there man," Uchiha Aido, his squad leader, said. "You act like we're gonna die or something,"

"S.. Sorry Aido..."

"Hey don't apologize, just calm down kid, you're going to wet yourself," the seasoned veteran said, polishing the hilt of his sword, "We don't carry any spare underwear,"

Gai clutched his katana more tightly, the sword shaking in his hands, "But you've heard of the Kyuubi's legendary power, right Aido?"

"Yeah, but we're on the side with the sleepers, no one's ever been able to get through at full strength, we'll be fine." Gai opened his mouth to comment when suddenly several Konoha ninja ran past him, their eyes wide with fear, "Hey, hey," Aido said, trying to stop one of the men, "Hey! What's wrong? What happened with the sleepers?"

Hoji walked up, saluting weakly, his left wrist had been broken and he had several cuts on his face where rocks had fragmented into it. "W.. We couldn't stop it!" he gasped, "Two lines of sleepers gone... Sleeper cells four through nine can't move in fear of being killed, we have to fall back to Konoha!"

Aido stared at the hysterical captain, shaking him, "You couldn't stop him? Kyuubi's coming HERE?" he yelled. The captain could only nod weakly. Aido dropped the man and turned to his squad, "We're going to hold our positions here until we can be reinforced. We can't let it get near Konoha, is that understood?" he barked.

"Sir! We need to pull back to Konoha or we won't survive!" a nervous looking ninja called, motioning to several advance ninja to regroup near him, "Fall back! Fall back!"

Aido strode up to the hysterical tokubetsu jounin and menacingly held a kunai under his throat, "You will immediately cease calling a retreat..." he said.

"Aido! I don't want to die! No one wants to die! We can wait it out! Konoha has enough supplies for an entire army to seize us for years, we can fight a war on our terms inside!"

"Are you questioning the Yondaime Hokage's orders?" Aido said, just a hint of menace leaking into his voice, "Because that is treason and punishable by death.." he pressed the kunai slightly harder against the ninja's neck, drawing a tiny trickle of blood.

"Okay! Okay! I'll stop!" he pleaded. Aido simply reholstered his kunai and turned, walking away briskly while shouting orders. The tokubetsu jounin smirked and quickly drew a kunai of his own, throwing it and stabbing the squad leader in the back. He walked over to the mortally wounded squad leader, grinding the kunai in deeper with his foot, "Looks like we're falling back.." he said.

Aido felt his vision clouding and looked up, meeting the traitor eye to eye. "You... bastard..." he muttered, blood flowing from his mouth. "You've chosen your own life over Konoha..."

"Well if I'm not alive I can't enjoy Konoha," the traitor snapped back. "I'm sorry I had to do that Aido, but you were going to get us all killed." he glanced around to the rest of the squad, they all looked stunned and confused, unsure of what to do. "Well let's go," he commanded. The squad nodded and jumped away toward the gate.

Gai quickly fell to his knees next to his squad leader, brushing away clumps of blood from his friend's face. "Aido!" he yelled, "Aido, where's our battalion medic? Tell me so I can help you!"

"Don't worry brat," Aido said dryly, "That won't kill me, a true ninja doesn't die from being stabbed in the back by a coward..." he tried to stand but found he couldn't. He looked up, a mass of red fur was moving in their direction, easily visible over the treetops, "Leave kid," he said.

"But Aido!"

"LEAVE" he yelled. Gai slowly stood, his eyes frightened, he nodded one last time to his squad leader and ran to the slowly closing gate.

"Pathetic..." Kyuubi said as he came upon the squad leader, "Your own left you for dead,"

Aido smirked, his vision blurring again, "Could you do me a favor?"

"What do you mean vermin?"

"Flip me over,"

Kyuubi chuckled, "Normally I wouldn't do anything for human swine but I guess you should at lease die in the manner you wished to," He kicked the squad leader over onto his back. Aido smiled and closed his eyes, he felt a pressure as Kyuubi's paw landed on him. It was the last thing he ever felt.

"YOU KILLED HIM!" Gai yelled, "YOU DAMN TRAITOR!"

"So we're supposed to die so he can get a promotion?" the tokubetsu jounin yelled back, "That was the only way! We can hold it off on our terms now!"

Kyuubi smiled, the walls were high and sturdy but may as well have been cardboard for all the use it would do the human filth. He swung his paw daintily toward the wall, a large gust of wind tearing it away. The surprised defenders were caught completely unaware. Blood flowed in the streets as the Kyuubi lay waste to all.

"Damn it!" Alpha commander yelled, "What happened to Uchiha Aido's squad? Kyuubi just walked up to the gate!" he activated his Byakugan and grimaced, "It's literally raining blood out there,"

Bravo commander nodded, "We need to mobilize every ninja in Konoha... Kyuubi's getting too close to the mountain..."

Gai jumped back, his hand pressed to the deep gash on his other arm, "Who's in command after Aido?" he yelled to the nearest ninja. The ninja turned toward him and opened his mouth when suddenly a bolt of lightning silenced him forever.

"It's Captain Hoji sir!" a chunin yelled.

"Where's he?"

"Probably cowering under some tree.."

Gai swore, his temper rising, "Then I'm taking over!" he yelled, "Split into three teams, one team hit Kyuubi from the northeast while the two other teams attack from under it!" Only a few ninja quickly formed up while the vast majority ran away in disarray. Gai looked to his left at the three other people assembled there, two chunin and a genin. He swore again, it seemed impossible.

"Sir!" the genin said, saluting, "The plan sir?" he inquired in a squeaky voice.

"The plan?" Gai said incredulously, was this kid that stupid? Couldn't he see that their team was completely inappropriate? "How many missions have you completed, KID," he said, stressing the word 'kid' heavily.

The genin flinched but them matched Gai's glare, "Nine D class missions, and two C class missions sir,"

"Go home kid..."

"No sir!"

Gai blinked at the genin's insolence, "What?" he said, "You either go home, or you die... I'm not really picky on which happens..." he said, trying to scare the genin into leaving.

The genin reached in his kunai holster and pulled out a small kunai, "I'm game.." he said, his eyes resolute.

One chunin however, did not share the genin's confidence, "Sorry sir..." he muttered as he walked away, "I have a family."

_'You think you're the only one with a family?'_ Gai thought as he turned to the other chunin, "What about you?"

"I guess I'm going," he muttered, slipping a kunai out of his holster. Gai nodded and motioned to his pitiful team. They crept along under the cover of several trees, stopping when they reached the enraged bijuu. "Plan?" he muttered.

Gai almost laughed, "Hell... what plan? We can't really hurt it, we can only hope we can stall it until the ANBU mobilizes,"

The genin nodded, grinning broadly, "Then let me start this little battle off," he muttered, throwing several kunai at Kyuubi.

Kyuubi knocked the kunai away effortlessly and swung one tail half-heartedly toward the genin. The genin easily dodged the slow burst of wind and jumped over the Kyuubi, raining shuriken down in it from above.

The chunin ran forward making seals. "Kanashibari no Jutsu!" he yelled, switching places with the genin, the tail he had just saved the young genin from slamming into his side, immediately breaking half the bones in his body.

Gai quietly watched as the chunin slowly fell to the ground, his shattered body hitting the ground with a thudding sound. Gai drew his katana and launched himself forward, stabbing quickly at the Kyuubi. Kyuubi jumped back, avoiding the sword, and sent several balls of fire hurtling toward him. Gai leapt to the side, feeling his arms blister as the heat washed over him, he quickly spun his sword, dispelling the remaining heat. He jumped over the next ball of fire and dodged under a third, panting heavily.

Kyuubi batted a kunai away easily and jumped, appearing behind the genin again. He smirked as the genin tried to jump away again, too slowly. He slammed his paw into the side of the genin's head, killing him immediately. He heard a cry of anguish and turned, another genin's kunai slamming into his leg and reflecting off, "YOU KILLED HIM!" the other genin yelled. "YOU KILLED HIM! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Kyuubi chuckled as the genin ran forward swinging a kunai haphazardly. He slammed his paw into the ground, creaking a large crack in the ground and causing the genin to stumble. Kyuubi slammed his paw down on the struggling genin, pinning him to the ground. "You'll kill me?" he said quietly, grinding his paw harder and harder on the genin, "Why are you stopping? You were doing so well..." Kyuubi quickly jerked around as a chakra signature flared behind him,"You," he spat.

"Me," Gai replied, pulling his katana out of Kyuubi's leg.

"I am a demon lord, you do not know what a grave mistake you have made..."

Gai's reply was cut off by the large ball of fire that flew past him and blew away a part of the mountain. He cursed and ran forward, stabbing at the demon fox again. Kyuubi slammed the brave ninja away and was about to finish him off when suddenly he disappeared.

Alpha commander silently laid Gai on the ground and stood back up, his long white robe flapping in the breeze. "Kinjyuken!" he yelled, drawing into a low jyuken form. He dodged under one of Kyuubi's tails and rolled forward, bursts of chakra flying from his hands and slamming into Kyuubi. Kyuubi simple shrugged off the jackhammer blows as if they were no more than soft taps, he drew back, dodging a jyuken strike, and slammed the ninja away with two tails. Alpha commander struggled back up, his left arm twisted and broken. "Get out of here Gai," he said.

"But commander!"

"GET OUT OF HERE, protect the shelter!"

"Y.. Yes sir!" Gai screamed, jumping up and running down the street.

"You're out of chakra," Kyuubi said matter-of-factly. "It was a stupid decision to tell him to leave,"

Alpha commander nodded, dropping into a regular taijutsu form, his chakra too depleted to do any effective jyuken strikes, "Do your worst demon," he said simply. Kyuubi lunged forward, his teeth shredding through the commander's sleeve, the armguard barely containing the attack. Alpha commander spun quickly, pulling away from the sharp jaws and slamming the Kyuubi on the head multiple times. Kyuubi once again dodged a strike and slammed its paw into the aging ninja's side. Alpha commander wiped away a drop of blood as it dripped from his mouth, "You cannot best Konoha demon," he spat. He dropped to one knee and turned his white eyes toward the Kyuubi, the veins around his eyes receding as his eyes closed for the final time.

Yondaime frowned, it went against everything he held dear and everything that he was to stay in the shelter and watch as the Kyuubi tore through his beloved home. "Alpha commander is down sir," a scout runner shouted.

Bravo commander ran his hand through his hair agitatedly, "Tell all ANBU units to fall back to the final defensive buffer... it'll be all or nothing there,"

"Yessir!" the scout squeaked, he ran off, his feet raising a cloud of dirt behind him.

"Commander," Yondaime said.

"Sir?"

"I WILL be at the final defensive buffer,"

"But sir.. we cannot allow you to.."

"As your Hokage I ORDER you to allow me to go," Yondaime commanded.

The commander opened his mouth to argue but shut it at the look on the Hokage's face. "Yes sir..." he said quietly. Yondaime nodded quickly and strode out of the room, his cloak flapping behind him. "Hokage-sama..." he said softly. "I will accompany you.."

Yondaime nodded and slammed the doors of the shelter open, striding outside to the impromptu defensive wall that had been erected. Ninety senior ANBU saluted at him, their eyes ever vigilantly scanning the area before them, "No sign of it yet sir..." an ANBU elite said, his twin scythes tightly clenched in his hands.

"Keep up the watch then," Yondaime said. His defenders visually relaxed when he appeared, he had an aura of self-confidence and silent authority that enboldened his men, no matter what the odds against them. He smiled and flung back the side of his cloak, he quickly reached down and grabbed at the hilt that was sticking from it. Several ANBU pried their eyes away from the area before them and gazed openly at the beautiful sword that he drew. The sword sparkled in the evening sun, the red hilt vividly standing out against the blinding white blade.

Bravo commander hid a grin, so this was what the legendary Yellow Flash's personal weapon looked like. It was stunning.

Gai ran down the road, his sword clanging loudly off of his armor, "Kyuubi's broken through, Alpha commander is down!" he yelled as soon as he saw the tell-tale white masks of the ANBU special forces. He slowed to a trot, then a walk as he saw the streak of yellow hair and white cloak that was fluttering gently with every movement, "Yondaime-sama!" he gasped, "He's broken through sir! He's.. he's..."

Yondaime rested a comforting hand on the panicking jounin's shoulder, quickly calming him. "That beast shall never pass this area alive," he declared, his blue eyes determinedly gazing around him at the captivated ANBU, "It is our duty to hold this line no matter what the cost. Konoha will not fall, not even to a demon,"

An ANBU elite saluted, his eyes shining with admiration, "Yes sir... anything for you and Konoha!"

A cheer reverberated through the area. "Yondaime and Konoha!"

Gai took a deep breath, willing himself to stop shaking, "Yondaime and Konoha.." he muttered. He quickly drew a locket out of his robes and opened it, his bloodshot eyes landing on the pictures of his family, "Yumi..." he said softly, clicking the locket closed and drawing himself up taller, "YONDAIME AND KONOHA!" he bellowed with the rest.

Kyuubi stepped around a bend, his red eyes landing on the ninja that had assembled before him. "Last stand?" he said.

"Kyuubi-sama, we have done you no wrongs, leave us be," Yondaime commanded, "If you do not leave, you will be slain,"

"It is you that will be slain human," Kyuubi growled, "Your insolence has earned you death,"

Kyuubi jumped as several jutsu destroyed the ground around his feet. He swung his paw, knocking unfortunate ANBU out of the sky. An ANBU captain quickly bridged the gap and clung tightly to the demon's leg, ignoring the searing heat that was flowing from it. "For the Hokage and Konohagakure!" his choked voice rang out as he activated the pack of explosive notes he had attached to his body.

Kyuubi winced and drew back, the power of the explosion painful to even him, he quickly spun his tails low as several more ANBU approached him, the ANBU went flying, their cries of pain mingling and creating a sick cacophony of sounds. Kyuubi's eyes widened as suddenly the Hokage appeared to his left, slashing his sword across Kyuubi's paw. Kyuubi growled in pain, his paw bleeding from the deep wound. He swung his tails toward the human but missed, he swung around, Yondaime already having teleported to the demon's other side. Kyuubi howled in pain again as the bright sword pierced through his side, he swung his tails in both directions, hoping to cut off his enormously swift opponent's movement. Yondaime appeared before the enraged demon, his sword in both hands over his head, fully prepared for a finishing blow. Kyuubi snarled and launched a ball of fire toward the Hokage.

Yondaime was caught completely unawares. The fireball struck him on the chest and propelled him into the nearby mountain. "Protect the Hokage!" Bravo commander yelled, a medic-nin quickly ran to his Hokage, lifting him and jumping away quickly. Kyuubi growled and shot several fireballs and bolts of lightning toward the retreating medical ninja. Several ANBU leapt up, blocking their Hokage with their all, their bodies obliterating and disintegrating immediately from the attacks.

Gai dodged a ball of fire hot enough to melt lead and leapt forward, his sword flashing in the air. Kyuubi dismissing him with a simple flick of his tail. Kyuubi batted several ANBU ninja out of the way as if they were dolls and slowly moved toward the shelter. Gai drew a deep breath and opened seven gates, feeling his world slow to less than a crawl. He ran forward but was slammed away again, his limp body slamming through a wall, if it hadn't been for the extra stamina afforded to him by the gates, he would have perished immediately.

Yumi drew her infant son closer to her and hugged it tightly. The cries of the dying and injured floating into the shelter. She cringed as an explosion rocked the area and suddenly an entire wall of the shelter imploded inward. She looked up and saw a familiar shape among the rubble. "Gai?" she yelled, "Gai! Oh no!" she quickly ran to the downed jounin and flipped him over, her expression going from concerned to frightened when she saw the violet hue of his face.

Kyuubi smirked, casually knocking another ninja to the ground, he glanced at the large hole in the mountain he had made with the careless jounin's body. He smiled as he drew his unbelievable amount of chakra to his center, forming several more balls of fire, and with a final laugh, sent them hurtling toward the cowering forms of people.

Gai coughed, his vision blurry and unfocused. He felt someone shake him roughly and realized who it was by her smell and the urgency in her voice, "Yumi?" he coughed, "Yumi..." he quickly stood and launched himself out of the shelter, his body straining. He saw something in his peripheral vision and half-turned back toward the shelter. What he saw made his blood freeze, several fireballs were zooming straight toward his wife and child. Gai took a deep breath and flung open his final gate.

Shinigami tapped him on the shoulder impatiently, "But why do their lives mean more to you than your own?"

Gai sighed in annoyance and disbelief, this was so incredibly stupid and meaningless, "Because they're my family," he said again.

"But would you die for them?"

Gai thought for the briefest moment, "Die?" he said slowly, "Y..Yes... but I don't see why that has anything to do with it.."

Shinigami just stared in disbelief, "So you don't know that the final gate kills you?". Shinigami cursed inwardly, the stupid man had almost received a power he wasn't ready for, all because he didn't know anything about it. He had almost waltzed through out of sheer dumb luck.

Gai blinked in surprise, he had never heard that before, "B.. But Sanmyu-sama only told me to never open it unless in dire trouble, he never said it would kill me,"

"But now you know does it change anything? Are you afraid of death now?"

"No.. I am not," Gai muttered, his eyes indecisive. If he died would Yumi remarry? Would his son forget he was even his father? A million questions floated through his mind, he tried to bat them away, he really did, but the thoughts got the better of him, one thought however refused to stay down. Would it be worth it?

"You look apprehensive," Shinigami commented, "Having second thoughts?" Gai swallowed but didn't say a word. He wasn't sure what to do. "You're really considering letting them die aren't you?" Shinigami spat, his tone suddenly murderously angry, "You damned coward, you wouldn't even defend your own wife and child? You don't deserve this power. Not in the least. Get the hell out of my sight you worm,"

Gai felt a flash of heat and pain and it quickly subsided. "Over here! Another one!" a voice above him yelled. He felt himself being flipped over onto his back and groaned. "Hey, don't move too much, you took some severe injuries," the medic-nin ordered.

Gai groaned and pushed the medic-nin away, ignoring his protests. He stood up groggily and surveyed the scene before him, his mouth dropped as he saw that the ground was burnt and scorched, the Kyuubi and the Yondaime gone, nothing but the shimmering sword remaining, stuck in the ground defiantly before a crying infant. Gai slowly turned to the shelter, already dreading what he was going to see. Tears fell from his eyes as he slowly stumbled to the large hole, his shaking hands taking his loved ones' remains and holding them tightly.

"Poor guy," a medic-nin whispered behind him, "The Kyuubi took his entire family out," he solemnly closed a dead chunin's eyes, "There was nothing at all he could do about it..."

_'But there was...'_ Gai thought. _'There was but I was too weak to do it... it was my fault.. they're dead because of me..'_

"Sir, you may want to change... you're a mess," a medic-nin said, tugging at his sleeve.

Gai looked down, his robes stained green from the shell of chakra that had surrounded him. He reached back and found that his hair had singed low around his head. He grimaced but hung his head and continued down the street. _'I'll stay like this'_ he vowed_ 'I'll stay like this so I'll never forget my sin... and maybe one day I can keep someone else from making the same stupid stupid mistake' _

_---_

Lee sat silently next to the man he had come to view as a father "You succeeded sensei..." he said, tears appearing in his eyes, "I.. I opened the eighth..."

Gai smiled weakly, his characteristic grin reappearing on his face. "I know... I could tell from the moment you entered. I just want you to know... ever since I lost my wife and son I never even imagined that I could find someone I would grow so fond of..." Gai took a deep breath, "You're like a son to me Lee,"

Lee grasped his sensei's hand tightly, unwilling to let death take him, "You are the closest thing I have ever had to a father Gai-sensei," he said softly, "You cannot pass on... not now..."

Gai motioned toward an envelope that was lying on the table, "Take that to Tenten, they are my final wishes, she's to do exactly what the paper says..." Gai nodded weakly, his eyes beginning to glaze over, "Do one last thing for me Lee..." he gasped.

Lee brushed a tear away, "Anything,"

"Could you call me 'Father'? Just once? I.. I always wanted to hear it from my son but he died much too soon..."

Lee hugged his sensei tightly, tears streaming down his face. Why damn it? Why did his sensei have to die? What had he done wrong but do his duty? "I will miss you... father..." Lee said quietly. Gai smiled and stiffened, his face frozen in the smile he had become renown for. Maito Gai, died that very day at three twenty-seven in the afternoon, the new green beast sobbing over the old brokenly. Maito Gai however, died a very happy man, he had fulfilled his nindo, he had made his favorite student the best ninja he could.

Neji walked in at the sound of crying. He quickly bowed his head, his usually expressionless face oddly emotional. "He was a good man..." he said softly, "If a bit odd..."

Lee shook his head, "He was not odd..." he said, "Just troubled..."  
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Naruto opened his new locker. It was stocked full of weapons and armor, he had never seen such a variety of weapons before in his life. "Wow," was all he could say as he took his mask off of the hanger on the back of the door. He smiled, whoever assigned the masks had a sense of humor, it was a mask with the engravings of a Fox.

Sakura had a similar astonished look on her face when she opened her locker. She gently unhooked her new mask from the prongs on the locker and slipped it on. It felt much more comfortable than Shizune's old one that she had used before. She took the mask off again and flipped it over in her hand, her eyes lighting up as she saw the engraving. Eagle.

"Let's go, Lee-san's probably at the hospital," Tenten said, slamming her locker shut deftly. "We should go see him, he's going to be taking things hard,"

"Let's go then," Kiba said, he was still holding an ice pack to his head. "I guess you're tagging along?" he said, "Or are you going to go to your precious Sasuke-kun?"

"Shut up Kiba!" Sakura stormed, walking toward him with a hand raised menacingly toward him.

Tenten moved quickly, looping several chakra strings and throwing them over Sakura, completely immobilizing her, "You will not create another display like you did in the Hokage's office in here," she looked Sakura in the eyes condescendingly, "I have never seen such a display of stupidity, imagine hitting your own teammate, your squadmate even, just because he commented on the mission. You're completely out of control. Get it together. Right now."

"Alright..." Sakura muttered, struggling against the chakra strings, "Kiba should shut up though," she said fiercely. "Hinata was just fine!"

"HE ALMOST KILLED HER! IF IT WASN'T FOR HER SPEED SHE'D HAVE A HOLE BLOWN THROUGH HER CHEST! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE DEFENDING HIM!" Temari yelled. "WE KNOW YOU LIKE HIM BUT THIS IS JUST WAY TOO MUCH DON'T YOU THINK?"

Naruto glanced at Hinata, she was staring silently at the ground, her shyness apparent, he turned back to Sakura, a hint of annoyance in his voice, "Sakura, I think Sasuke's gone too far for once, Granny Tsunade was right to decide what she did,"

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled, fuming, "How can you say that? That's horrible!" she gave each of the ANBU a stern glare, "I'm going to go see him, see you all later," with a huff she turned on her heel and walked away.

"Bitch," Kiba muttered.

"Damn it," Tenten said, "Lee's gonna ask where Sakura is, and if we tell him the truth, he's going to take it really hard..." she quickly ran after Sakura, "Sakura! Come back here!" The rest of the squad watched in amusement as Tenten pleaded with Sakura to come with them. Sakura just snorted and walked away, her nose held high, Tenten stomped back, a sour expression on her face, "You're right, she is a bitch..." she said. "What does Lee even see in her,"

Naruto opened his mouth, he felt that he had to defend his friend and long-time crush but couldn't figure out anything to say. "So... are we going to see Lee's parents there?" he said nonchalantly. Naruto's eyes widened at the response, Hinata's eyes grew large and she gasped, Kiba, Tenten, and Temari all looked like they were mentally debating whether or not to kill him, they seemed to decide the former rather then the latter and charged toward him. Hinata charged forward grabbing each of the enraged ANBU tighly and holding them back, her small form struggling to hold the three larger nin back.. Naruto gulped, his face confused. "D.. Did I say something wrong?"

Hinata held back the three with great difficulty, "Naruto-kun's new! He doesn't know..." she said.

Tenten stopped struggling, her buns falling out of their perfectly circular shape. She calmly pulled her hair back up into thier characteristic shape and sighed, "Sorry Naruto, we forgot,"

Naruto nodded, his curiosity piqued now, "Why is that such a big deal? I mean... does Lee have bad parents?"

"I'll say," Temari muttered, "Or he HAD bad parents,"

"What?"

Hinata's eyes were downcast, sad tears forming, "He was abandoned by his parents when he was young,"

Naruto froze, he had never known, never even guessed, "He was... abandoned?"

"Like we said before, ANBU squads know everything about each other," Tenten said bitterly, "He told us... if you want I'll tell you, but don't act any differently toward him, Lee hates pity," Naruto nodded dumbly.

---

"It seems his system of inner coils and chakra circulatory system has been improperly formed," the doctor said. "He will never be able to mold chakra into a manageable form for jutsu,"

"So... is this why I can't do jutsu?" the six year old Lee asked quietly. "Is this why all of my teachers laugh at me and call me stupid?"

"Unfortunately we can't do anything about it. There's no way to correct the error," the doctor said sadly, "It would be best for you to find your son something else to do, sir," he said.

Lee's father snorted, "A sad day to see the last male child of our clan in this damned village is crippled in such a manner. This village surely curses us. We will leave this damned village immediately, once and for all..." he peeled his arm out of the young Lee's grip and swiftly walked away.

"Father!" Lee yelled, running after him desperately, "I'll become stronger 'kay? I'll be a good ninja and make you happy! Even without jutsu! I can do it! I can!"

The man just threw back the hysterical child, "Our clan used to be numerous, powerful, one of the best, and now the heavens plague us as such? You're not worthy of inheriting our name... get out of my sight, you are my son no longer,"

"Father please!" Lee yelled, tears welling in his eyes as he cried in the street after the swiftly leaving man, "I... I'll change... I'll make you proud..." he whimpered, "Don't leave me... please..."

"You are my son no longer, get away from me,"

"Father please! Please! Give me one more chance! I can do it!"

"No,"

Lee ran after his father, tears streaming from his eyes. "Father!" he yelled, "Please! Please don't leave me! I'm sorry! I'll make you proud!" The man turned back toward the small boy and slammed his fist into his side, knocking the breath from his lungs and fracturing a rib. Lee lay on the ground gasping and crying in pain, his father walking away without a second glance. "F.. Father..." Lee whimpered, he tried to stand but fell back down, his head thudding against the ground, the merciful blackness relieving him temporarily of his pain.

Lee woke up several hours later back in the hospital, his mind spinning. A doctor asked him how he was but he was too stunned to answer. The small child pushed the doctor away and ran to his home, tears still falling silently behind him. He forced the door open and looked around, calling out for his father, begging the silent house to bring him back. A kindly neighbor heard the young boy's yells and came over, she understood the situation immediately and tried to console the small child. "Don't worry, we'll get you in an orphanage and a nice kid like you will get better parents almost immediately..." she said soothingly.

Lee pushed the neighbor away, his round eyes red and bloodshot from his sorrow, "No.." he said, "I won't ever depend on anyone ever again.." he said. He quickly pointed the neighbor to the door and shut it, he curled up on the floor, his tears still falling like a rainstorm and fell asleep. Cold, hungry, and alone.

---

Naruto looked down, his mind spinning, he never knew. He had never even imagined. He knew how much it hurt to be thought of as inferior as a child but to be abandoned face to face by your very own father? He felt a wave of guilt as he realized that Lee may have had a childhood as bad as his own. "I.. I didn't know..." he said guiltily. "I.. I never even asked.."

"Don't tell anyone who's not part of the squad, Lee tries really hard to forget it,"

"Can't blame him can you?" Kiba said bitterly, "He was abandoned as too weak, most people would never understand,"

Hinata's eyes were still downcast, _'I know how he feels...'_ she thought. "S.. Should we go now?" she asked quietly.

"Y.. Yeah... let's go..."

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"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called as she walked into the holding cell, "Are you okay?"

"Sakura?" Sasuke said incredulously. She was here to see him again? Was she really that naïve? "What are you doing here?"

"To visit you of course!" she said sweetly, "It must be really boring in here all by yourself,"

Sasuke smirked, he had planned on using extreme force to fulfill the mission given to him by Orochimaru but deception and guile would work just as well. "Sakura-chan..." he said softly, almost flirtaciously, anticipating and counting on the blush that appeared on her cheeks, "Could you loosen these ropes a bit? They're really uncomfortable.. I'd really appreciate it..."

Sakura turned away, trying to hide her blush, she felt happy, happy that her idol had finally chosen to at least acknowledge her. "I.. can't do that Sasuke-kun..." she muttered.

"Ah.. I understand, it's okay Sakura-chan.." he said, turning away and making his disappointment obvious to the pink haired kunoichi. "Well you should go then..."

Sakura gasped, her imagined chance with her idol waning quickly, "Well a little won't hurt!" she said quickly. She strode over to the tied Uchiha and quickly glanced around to see if the guard chunin was looking at her. She quickly loosened the rope and stood back, her eyes shining, "Is that better Sasuke-kun?" she asked.

Sasuke nodded, reaching down and pulling a poisoned senbon from where he had hidden it in the seam of his pants. Sakura's eyes widened as the senbon thudded into her, she fell, the tranquilizing solution overtaking her quickly. Sasuke crawled over to her unconscious body and pulled out one of her kunai, cutting through his bonds easily, "Much better actually," he said with a grin.

The guard chunin was having a pretty relaxed day. Nothing was out of the ordinary, no one had acted up, and even the Uchiha traitor was being silent. He stretched out, yawning when he felt a blade at his neck. He fell to the ground, dead before he could make a sound.

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"Hey thickbrow!" Naruto yelled, "How's Gai-san?"

Lee turned to look at Naruto, his red eyes still brimming with tears, "He.. He has... moved on.."

Tenten looked away, her hands clenching tightly, "H.. He's gone?" she said, her voice breaking. She had never told her old sensei but he had taught her many things, many lessons she held dear and that made her the person she was that very day. Now she would never have the chance to tell him how much she admired him. She felt sad that she didn't even see him before he died. "Sensei..." she whispered, blinking away tears.

"He wanted you to have this," Lee said, the envelope containing his sensei's last wishes shaking in his trembling hand, "They are his last wishes,"

Tenten took the letter solemnly and opened it, her eyes narrowed and she took a deep breath, "Gai-sensei..." she muttered, "You were thinking of us all this time..." she slipped out the first piece of paper and slid it into her pocket. She then quickly pulled out another piece of paper and turned it over to show a picture of their old team.

"Gai-sama was a good man..." Hinata said quietly, "I'm sorry Lee-san..."

Lee was tired of hearing it, the same things said by everyone. They would never know the Maito Gai he had come to know. The man, the ninja, the father, all of those in one. Lee stood silently, his hand running absentmindedly through his white-streaked hair, "I.. I will leave now..." he said, walking away shakily, he frowned, something was missing. He stopped, his eyes filled with more pain than before, "Has Sakura-chan gone to see Sasuke-kun?" he asked softly.

"She.. um.." Tenten started lamely, "She had to go home.."

Lee laughed sadly, his fake laughter sounding hollow even to him, "I understand..." he said, "You did not have to lie to me Tenten-chan..." he silently left, his footsteps echoing loudly in the hall.

"Well that went well..." Temari remarked sarcastically. "Thank you Sakura, you probably just made the guy consider suicide..." The squad silently paid their respects and left, all of them solemnly walking their individual paths home.

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Sasuke quickly dropped the dead genin's body on the ground, wiping the fresh blood off of the kunai. He turned to Orochimaru's spy and nodded. "Get yourself in a Henge so we can finish the mission and get out of here,"

"Already ahead of you," the spy said, he tossed his cloak aside and Sasuke found himself staring at a duplicate of Lee, perfect down to the green jumpsuit. "I need to pass myself off as a captain so we can get out of here without any questions asked,"

"But that particular one?" Sasuke said, "Why him?"

"He's one of the most highly trusted ANBU captains the Hokage has, if he's seen helping a traitor then Konoha's loyalty to her will drop, something Supreme Commander Danzou is very interested in,"

Sasuke nodded and jumped up onto the ledge. He had seen the ledge hundreds of times but had never really meant to enter like this. _'Knock knock dobe'_ he thought to himself. He carefully pushed the window open, his swift hands neutralizing a trap before it could activate. Sasuke took a final deep breath and stuck his head in the apartment. He saw Naruto sitting at the table, silently staring at a book of jutsu and almost exploded with uncharacteristic laughter. Since when did the dobe calm down enough to do that? He pulled a small tranquilizing senbon out and aimed carefully.

Naruto flipped the page, his eyes momentarily stopping on a jutsu worth noting. His ears pricked up, a slight whistling coming to them. His mind immediately recognized the sound. Senbon. Three to Seven inches. Naruto jumped to the side and turned quickly, plucking the senbon out of the air easily with his right hand. He looked down at it and smiled, five inches, he had been right. He snapped the thin needle and looked up at his assailant, "Teme?" he said incredulously, "How are you out here?"

Sasuke drew another senbon, smirking, "Let's say a certain pink-haired girl is too trusting,"

"What did you do to Sakura?" Naruto growled. He quickly pulled out a kunai and settled into a fighting stance. "Last chance to give up teme.." he said, a large grin on his face. Sasuke moved forward, stabbing with the senbon and blinked when Naruto simply ducked under his arm and slammed the senbon away. Naruto drew a chakra pulse to his leg and kicked sideways, blowing Sasuke upward, Sasuke quickly turned to block the eventual follow-up attack but none came. Sasuke winced as a Bushin slammed him to his left and Naruto suddenly appeared right next to him, the blond jounin simply slammed the larger ninja into the ground and backed away, grinning broadly. "You have no idea what you just got yourself into teme," Naruto said. Sasuke just stood back up and smirked, Naruto felt a chakra signature behind him and spun around. His mind almost did a backflip as what looked like Lee suddenly stabbed him in thechest with the tip of the senbon he had broken earlier. "Lee?" he said in confusion, he quickly crumpled to his knees and lie there, unconscious.

Sasuke hefted the blond ninja and nodded to the spy who was carrying the limp body of Sakura, "Let's go, mission accomplished,"

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Notes: I'm really sorry for the timing of this chapter! I was in Oregon and didn't have any time to type! I apologise heartily. I hope this chapter started to hint toward the main plot of the story which will come later. Sorry but I dunno what to comment on now XP. Yay this is the one month anniversary of when I posted this story! Yay! Yeah, I know, I'm really big on special occasions. I can't believe the positive reviews and comments I got from everyone! They were so amazing and really gave me the motivation to type! Thank all of you! This story now has reached it's previous goal of 30 reviews! Next goal's 40, help me out guys! I can honestly say that when I posted this I never even dreamed the response would be so positive, you're all amazing thank you!

Please Review! It keeps writers writing.

---  
Update: July 14th

Hey everyone! Good news! It's been on my mind that there really should be a Lee fan forum! SO I've created one! Check it out! It's called "Rock Lee: A True Ninja's Struggle to Glory". There are gonna be contests and stuff, it'll be really cool! If you're a Lee fan then just come look at it! You won't be sorry!

**Review Replies: **

**K.C :** I'm happy you liked it, it always makes a writer happy to know that others enjoy thier work! Yes, Lee's new self will be permanant, it'll be crucial to the development of his abilities later, and yes, Sakura sure is dumb. Hehe.

**romaina** : Thank you so much again! You always leave me with such kind reviews, I truly thank you from the bottom of my heart. And of course, thank you for liking my story so much, it means a lot to me.

**SapphireWhiteTigress** : Yay! My Beta and good friend! She's the one who preread this story when it was just a mix and mass of jumbled and random ideas and helped me form it into an actual chapter. She does great work of her own and honestly she's an completely amazing writer in her own right.Yups, I hate Sasuke too, and I'm sorry I had to kill Gai, it'll become critical later, trust me, I'm not a Gai-hater, in fact I tried to make him seem very brave and self-sacrificing. Gai is awesome, its just that honestly Gai is too awesome and would die to save Kakashi like that. Haha lol Duo, yeah that flashed through my head too, I wanted to make some kind of allusion to it but decided against it, lol. She's the best, I don't know how I would continue without her, I'm so happy to have her as a friend! (cries with the joy)

**anime girl987** : - I'm glad you liked it. I hope you had a happy birthday! I sure did, people were so kind with their reviews too. All in all it was a pretty awesome day. (I made a new friend, points upward) I'm glad its okay if I miss a week or something but I always will do my best to update once a week. I'm a reader myself as well and can tell you from experience how much excitement a new chapter brings or hopefully brings, lol.

**GoodDevil1989** : Thank you! I'll continue to try my best!

**DreadlockMonkey** : Haha, lol. I'm glad to see some more people who see the potential in some of the more minor charachters. Sasuke and Naruto may be what the series centers around but that doesn't mean that Hinata or Lee or anyone else is neccasarily weaker. Yeah, Sakura's obsession is really odd, I'll be happy to drop it in a chapter or two (hint hint wink wink nudge nudge) Well at least your question about Gai and Shinigami was answered right? Lol, thanks for reviewing!

**VASHD1** : Omg I'm so sorry! I must have missed the last letter. Bleh, me and my little oversights. I'm so sorry! I'm glad you forgive me.. that was totally and entirely my error. Thanks for the review! See you at the eighth as well friend. (Salutes)

**The Universal Cynic** : Excuse me for my straightforwardness but honestly, if you dislike this story so much, why are you continuing to read and review it? Please go do something you feel is more worthy of your time. Perhaps you'd like to read something centered around Naruto or someone else? I suggest the story Colors of Life and Death, an amazing story that covers Naruto's developement very well or A Growing Love if you prefer NaruSaku to NaruHina. I apologise again but I have to disagree with you on Hinata once more, she's very brave in fact, she stepped up to fight Neji even while knowing that she was risking death doing so, she was actually fighting back against Neji's mental attack before Naruto came in but Naruto just gave her an extra confidence boost. As you say, it may be possible that I am assuming too much about each charachter, it is fully possible, but the way I see the world of Naruto, losers will rise to greatness in thier own right. Lee and Hinata, even Naruto and Sakura to an extent, are symbols of how through hard work a person can change themselves, and of course, no one works harder than Lee and Hinata to change themselves.

I'm sorry that you feel so strongly about this, I fail to understand some of your points though. This may be romance but it is also action/adventure, also the world of Naruto is set in a ninja setting so battles and missions would occur frequently and much of the interaction between charachters would occur in missions and training. Remember even in the manga, a good 80 percent of the driving coversations occur either in battle or in training as a team. As of yet I'm just attempting to introduce the main plot and a few sub-plots, later on it will become more and more romance-oriented, please excuse me for it, but I think that creating the plot takes precedence over any single point in the story, I have been trying to hint at the pairings but again, the entire squad is very busy, they've had two missions in two days, excuse them if they don't take time to chat about thier romantic interests. Um.. about the English lesson thing... I don't understand... English classes only teach you the basics or grammer and writing, not any of the things you would actually need to develop a story... maybe you accidentally miswrote what you meant? You were probably thinking of a composition or writing class.

I've already explained my basis on the command system, I will hold to that.

I'm sorry you thought this was bad, but I really want to know why you continue to review it if you hate it so badly. Isn't it actually often deemed rude to call a person's best efforts pathetic? I will continue to keep your reviews up because I believe that if that is truly your opinion thenit should be up in the manner you wanted it to be... but honestly, it's very disconcerting and unhelpful. I do thank you for reviewing however, I'm glad that you saw me as having the ability to change whatever it was that you so disliked but I have to apologise that I will not. I don't know what to do but apologise for making you hate this so much, I honestly did try. Please leave in peace friend.

**Anonymous** : Thank you very much for the kind review. Again, I didn't want to 'mess with' Gai but I honestly felt that it had to happen for certain events to take place in the story. I'm deeply humbled that you'd review my story given how you usually don't review, thank you, it means a lot. I'm glad you loved the story, thank you so much. I'll do my best to keep up or improve my quality of writing. Just one thing though, the question of "Why did Naruto get in ANBU so late comparatively" will be answered later, it's not an oversight on my part. Like I said, I will try to keep the story as close to the manga as possible and Naruto's ability to defend himself was being questioned by the elders, which are by the time in the story now defunct. I won't go into any more details in fear of spoilers but please trust me, I know what I'm doing. Thank you.

**Quietchick** : Thank you very much for the review! It really raised my spirits after they fell from certain comments from a certain cynical person. As I've said before, I will never stop this story until its completed, if even one person reads and enjoys it then it's completely worth it. Thank you for being so encouraging and for saying my points were good, it really makes me happy that people could be that kind to someone and fight in thier defense. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Thanks all those who've reviewed and I'd like to ask those who are reading this now to please review as well!


	8. Chapter Seven: Commander

Eagle One

Chapter Seven: The Ten Gathered

Disclaimer: I own not the Naruto series, uh huh.  
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Lee tightly closed his eyes and turned over restlessly. His last conversation with his sensei was still echoing in his mind. He sighed and got up, his restless mind keeping him awake even as his body cried out for sleep. He ran a trembling hand over his face and walked to the bathroom, washing away the cold sweat that had built up. He sat down on his bed heavily, his newly red eyes sadly staring at a picture of his genin team. Lee sighed deeply, _'Did I not say I would never depend on anyone ever again? Then why does it hurt so much?'_ Lee knew the answer immediately, though he tried to banish the thought from his mind, it was because Gai was much more of a father to him than that nameless man who had abandoned him so long ago had ever been. Lee sighed and tried to get some sleep.

Lee was barely dozing when the door suddenly burst open, several jounin walking through officially. "ANBU Captain Rock Lee?" the head officer asked.

"Yes, that is me," Lee said, completely confused.

"You stand with charges of treasonous behavior, kidnapping, and assisting the escape of a prisoner of Konoha, you will allow us to arrest you peacefully and will be held for trial,"

"Treason? Kidnapping? Assisting a prisoner? What evidence do you have to level these charges?" Lee demanded angrily, "I have done nothing to earn these charges!"

The jounin nodded toward the door and a nervous looking chunin stepped out, he paused as he saw Lee and pointed a shaking hand at him. "I.. It's him.. I'm sure of it! He was the one with the Uchiha boy at the East Gate with the two"

"There's your proof," the jounin growled, "Come with us traitor.. never thought I'd see the day one of the ANBU turns traitor on us," two jounin stepped forward, snapping a set of handcuffs on Lee's wrists.

"It was not me!" Lee yelled, pulling his arms away from the jounin who had handcuffed him, "I am innocent!"

"Shut up," one of the jounin said, pulling Lee outside, "We're going to take you to Ibiki and he'll get you to tell us where you took that Sakura girl and the demon kid,"

Lee's face immediately became horrified, "What? Sakura-chan and Naruto-kun have been kidnapped?"

"Don't pretend like you don't know," the jounin snapped, "You did it after all,"

Lee was in no mood to mince words with the jounin. He quickly pulled the handcuffs apart as easily as if they were made of no more than cardboard and jumped onto a roof, running full speed toward the East Gate.

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"He just up and ran away Tsunade-sama!" the jounin raged to the sleepy looking Hokage, "He's surely betrayed us all!"

"You moron," Neji said, "You think that if he wanted to, he couldn't have destroyed those stupid little handcuffs immediately and killed you all? If he wanted to betray us, you and your men would all be dead right now,"

"Dog One is right," another ANBU captain remarked, "Eagle One has beaten entire squads of ANBU by himself, he wouldn't hesitate to kill you if he had really betrayed us, in fact, he would probably kill all of you before you could even get the handcuffs on him,"

Tenten nodded, "Did you mention which people were kidnapped?" she had been called to fill in as squad leader in Lee's absence, Tenten didn't believe a word of the story that the chunin had told the Hokage, Lee would never desert, he would never hurt his friends, and especially would never hurt Sakura. She had a pretty good idea of why Lee had run away though. "Did you mention their names?"

"Yes ma'am," the jounin said, "He seemed to become visibly frightened after we informed him of how much we knew about his part in the kidnappings, he began to panic and ran away," the jounin swelled, sure that his evaluation of the situation was correct.

Neji and Tenten glanced at each other, their eyes knowing, "You idiot," Neji said dryly, "You completely stupid person. He's not abandoning us, he's gone to get them back,"

"But the guard said..."

Tenten jumped out of her chair, her eyes filled with annoyance, "I don't even know how you could even think of accusing Lee of treason! He's an ANBU Captain!"

A Ne captain stood, his face twisted in a smirk, "Then why'd he leave without his squad, equipment, or without clearing his name? The one that runs is most likely guilty,"

"He loves that girl more than his own life," Neji said, "He'd do anything or go anywhere to save her. He probably doesn't even care about whether or not his name has been cleared,"

The Ne captain scoffed, his cold eyes meeting Neji's, the tension seemed palpable. "Once again, you allow your ties to each other weaken you, that is why the Ne are far superior to you,"

"That's where you're wrong," Neji said bitingly, "Our relationships and bonds of friendship do not weaken us, they serve to make us stronger, and that is why you will forever be inferior," Tenten glanced at the white-eyed prodigy in awe, she remembered when he used to say the exact same thing about ties to others, now he was giving a heartfelt defense of them? She almost chuckled silently, maybe they were all changing for the better.

Tsunade jerked awake as suddenly the ANBU captains and Ne captain quickly broke into several furious arguments, she sighed, "Supreme Commander Danzou, control your men," she said.

Danzou frowned at her, his hate for her only flashing briefly in his eyes before he smiled fakely, "But of course Hokage-sama," he said, pronouncing the word 'Hokage' more like a curse than an honorific, "All ANBU units!" he roared officially. The room suddenly became quiet, not a sound being made from any of the captains present, "Atten-shun!" The ANBU all snapped to attention as did the Ne, both sides of the special forces standing rigid as boards.

"Thank you Danzou," Tsunade said, she stood quietly, her body protesting the movement. It was really much too early, she had almost knocked out the jounin who had woken her up in a fit of irritation. "While I do believe that Captain Lee is not entirely guilty of treason or kidnapping, he IS guilty of evading arrest, I suggest a squad be dispatched immediately to recapture him and bring him back to Konoha before he injures himself or is captured. Capture of an ANBU Captain will not be tolerated, if it absolutely comes down to it... kill him..." Tsunade took a deep breath, sometimes she wondered why she ever took the job, she sighed as she remembered. "Volunteers?"

Tenten immediately raised her hand, "Hokage-sama, Eagle Two of Squad Fifteen requesting permission to sortie out for the mission ma'am!"

Tsunade nodded, "Permission granted," Danzou stood, clearing his throat loudly. Tsunade glared at him for a short while and politely motioned to him, "Commander Danzou? Did you wish to add something?"

Danzou shifted his glare coldly to Tenten, the distaste on his face was frightening, "Your squad has taken two missions in two days correct?" he said, leafing through a small folder.

"Yes Danzou-sama,"

"And several members of your squad were injured?"

"Yes Danzou-sama,"

"AND you're the traitor's squad?"

Tenten bit back her defense of her squad leader, keeping her face as emotionless as possible, "Sir, we are Captain Lee's squad sir, squad fifteen,"

"So as I said, the traitor,"

"No sir," Tenten said firmly, "ANBU captain Lee,"

Danzou's gaze hardened again as he snapped the folder shut and turned to the Hokage, "Hokage-sama," he said, "They don't even think he has committed the crimes he obviously has. They cannot be trusted with this mission! I suggest you send one of my Ne squads instead,"

Tsunade matched the glare, her gaze only faltering slightly. "We will not send a Ne squad commander," she said, "Simply because we want to bring him back ALIVE,"

Danzou's eyes narrowed and his hand hovered threateningly close to the hilt of his sword, "What are you implying Hokage-sama," he said menacingly.

"Nothing you haven't led me to believe," Tsunade said back levelly, never breaking eye contact with the commander of Ne.

Danzou frowned, his hatred literally flowing from him, he quickly dropped his hand away from his sword and gave another fake grin, though it looked more like a grimace. "Of course Hokage-sama," he spat, "You are considering sending a high ranking officer with them, correct?" he turned to Tenten once again, "You, who is the ANBU Elite assigned to your section?"

"Our section commander is ANBU Elite, Nara Shikamaru, sir,"

A significant glance passed from Danzou to Tsunade, "I see," Danzou said, "Then until he can preform his duties in a satisfactory manner once again, I will have to assign you an officer of my own choosing,"

Tsunade quickly shook her head, unwilling to trust Danzou, "I don't think that will be necessary," she said. "Maybe one of the regular section leaders will volunteer.

A hand was immediately thrust into the air, and Tsunade grinned down at the ANBU Elite who had raised it, "I volunteer Hokage-sama," she said.

"Good," Tsunade said, she nodded to the blue eyed girl, "You will command the detachment then," the girl nodded and Tsunade smiled at the rest of the ANBU, "ANBU dismissed!" she yelled.

Tenten slowly walked over to where the ANBU Elite was standing. She smiled, "Nice to see you again, Mika-chan" she said, "I haven't seen you since our Academy days, have you been busy?"

The girl smiled, petting the cat that was sitting delicately on her shoulder, her azure blue eyes flashing cheerfully, "A little," she said. "Get your squad together, let's go,"

Tenten smiled back, "Yes Ma'am!" she shouted.

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Naruto struggled angrily against the heavy ropes, his chakra locked away by several seals placed on his back. "Why'd you let him loose Sakura?" he asked quietly.

"I.. I don't know..." she murmered, "I.. I thought maybe he had changed.."

Naruto sighed, "Sakura... I wish he could, but he's gone too far, he can't change now.."

"So Dobe," Sasuke said, walking over to where Naruto lay, "How are you?"

"Damn it let me out of this shit and fight me!" Naruto yelled. He thrashed violently but to no avail.

"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura said, "Why are you doing this? Itachi's dead, you can come back to us now... you don't have to help Orochimaru anymore!"

Sasuke smirked, "So that's what all this is about," he said, "It's no longer about my dear older brother, he's serving a fate worse than death now... it's about power... as I got more and more, the more I craved it... you understand don't you?" he gave Sakura another sarcastic grin and left. Sakura just lowered her head, tears falling from her eyes.

"See now Sakura-chan?" Naruto said softly, "He's changed,"

"No... you're wrong Naruto," she said slowly, "He hasn't.. that's why he's still horrible,"

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"There's no way Lee'd betray Konoha," Kiba said again, "There's just no way!"

"That's what I think as well Kiba-san..." Hinata said softly, "He would never do such a thing..."

"He probably went to try to get Sakura back," Temari repeated, "He's going alone because he's trying to catch up with Sasuke and his impersonator..."

Tenten nodded, "How are we gonna slip away from Mika-chan and go help Lee-san?" she quickly looked around her, and seeing no one continued, "Maybe we should sneak away from her?" There was a small cough from above them and the squad looked up in surprise. The ANBU Elite from earlier waved to them cheerfully, having attached herself to the bottom of a tree branch and stealthily moved directly above them without attracting their attention. "Ma'am!" Tenten said, her eyes wide in surprise. "We were just about to..."

The blue haired girl held up a hand, cutting her off, she silently dropped off the tree branch, landing softly and gracefully onto her feet, "Don't look so stiff, I'm not gonna bite your heads off," she said, she patted the cat she was holding on the head, "Right Rai?" Tenten started to stammer an excuse again when she was cut off once more, "Seeing as how you guys trust him, I highly doubt he would commit the crimes that he's been accused of," her eyes twinkled mischievously and she added, "So, I tell you what; we'll help him and if he does turn out to be the bad guy, we'll have no choice but to turn him in,"

Kiba stared at the girl, his eyes widening, "Who are you?" he snapped.

Tenten smacked him lightly on the shoulder, "She's your commanding officer, that's who,"

Kiba coughed, blushed and looked away, he quickly muttered an apology and turned, muttering something about unclear instructions. "So what should we do now ma'am?" Hinata said softly.

"Alright, here's the game plan, guys: We'll divide into two groups. Tenten will lead the first one while I'll take charge of the second one." the elite said. The squad quickly divided up, Tenten, Kiba, and Temari forming one group and the elite and Hinata in the other.

"By the way," Temari said, "I didn't catch your name.."

"My name is Shirotora Mika of the Shirotora Clan," Mika tilted her head toward her cat that was silently padding around the area, "And this is Rai, say hello Rai," Temari's eyes bulged as the cat suddenly sank down into what was an unmistakable bow.

Hinata smiled as Rai purred and rubbed herself against her leg, "She's very cute..." she said shyly, "I.. Is she coming on the mission with us?" Hinata giggled as the cat suddenly jumped up into her arms and rubbed against her face.

Mika smiled broadly, walking over to Rai and scratching her under the chin. "Of course, I can't complete a mission without my Rai. She's a really good mission cat, just like his dog," Mika nodded her head toward where Kiba and Akamaru stood, "This cat is smarter than most other animals, she can even understand humans and their emotions," Rai looked up, noticing that she was now the center of attention and purred. Mika looked around, her eyes taking in every detail calmly, "Alright, we've wasted enough time standing around," she said glancing at each member of the squad, "Everyone knows what to do?" the remnants of Squad Eagle nodded, "Then let's move out!"

The squad moved forward for an hour before they met the first signs of Lee's movements, several footprints in a riverbed. Temari stared blankly in amazement, the ANBU Elite had certainly earned her rank and title, her eyes were taking in every detail and her mind was most likely hard at work formulating plans, "Wow," Temari muttered, "Looks like she could give even Shiki-kun a good run..."

Mika raised her hand, palm open and facing downward and swept her hand from the left to the right, she then pointed to a point roughly two hundred meters in front of her and lifted up two fingers. Tenten understood immediately, "Kiba, Temari, we're going to flank from the left, Mika and Hinata will stay their ground and distract them, there are two enemies,"

Kiba and Temari nodded both following Tenten as they snuck up the left side. Mika smiled and fell into a fluid stance, her opponent falling into a taijutsu stance of his own. The enemy sound-nin jumped forward, launching a straight jab toward the ANBU elite's face. Mika easily dodged it, the fluidity of her form easily overcoming her opponent's stiff form. The sound-nin knew almost immediately that he was in trouble, he dodged backward clumsily trying to avoid the lightning fast strikes but tripped and fell, his body unable to move fast enough to defend himself. Mika jumped over the sweeping leg the sound-nin threw in an attempt to trip her and quickly slammed her foot into his face, breaking his nose and knocking him unconscious. Mika yawned slightly and turned to Hinata, she had just finished as well, her disabled opponent lying on the ground unconscious.

Tenten and her group crept back to their commander, Kiba grinned, "Good thing they were so weak huh?"

Mika frowned, her face twisted in concentration, "Those were just scouts... where there are scouts there's bound to be a much larger force..." she quickly motioned for them to form up again and kicked leaves over the two unconscious bodies, hiding them from view, she motioned them forward and suddenly they heard the sounds of a distant battle.

Lee slammed his fist into a Cloud-nin, breaking several bones and knocking the smaller ninja out easily. He was so absorbed in the battle that he didn't even notice the Rock-nin forming seals behind him. Lee jumped over a kunai and rolled underneath several ninja kicking them all down and breaking their legs, not badly enough to cripple them for life but badly enough to keep them from returning to the battle. The Rock-nin smirked as he finished the last seal and pumped the final bit of chakra into his hands. He was about to activate the jutsu when he felt a sudden pressure on his neck. He lurched forward, unconscious and fell out of the tree. Lee turned at the sound, the entire battlefield freezing. "Mika-chan?" Lee said incredulously, "What are you doing here?"

A Cloud-nin stared openly at the young woman's bright blue hair and eyes and the azure tiger kanji on her robes, "Konoha's White Tiger?" he said, several other ninja near him perked up at the announcement and began to back away. The squad leader from the Cloud swallowed his fear and launched himself up at the woman, hoping he could even touch her.

Mika dodged under the attack, falling into her signature form again. She quickly slid under the enemy ninja's attack and slammed her palm into his knee, causing it to give out and drop the squad leader to his knees. The cloud-nin didn't give up however and he rolled away, quickly drawing himself up and launching himself forward. Mika simply bent over backwards, dodging the attack easily, she quickly jumped on her hands and spun, her feet connecting with the cloud-nin's neck, she then dropped down and leapt forward, slamming a palm into the cloud-nin's chest even before he finished falling from the first blow. The cloud-nin lay crumpled on the ground, his eyes hazed and unfocused, "So..." she said nonchalantly, "Who else wants to end up like this idiot?" The words had barely left her mouth when the clearing was suddenly empty, only the groaning wounded remaining.

Lee walked up to her, obviously impressed, "Tora Style?" he said, "I did not know that there were masters in that left..."

The rest of the squad walked out of the treeline and waved. "So what's this Tora style?" Temari whispered. She hated to ask people about things but she hated not knowing what it was even more.

"I.. It's an ancient taijutsu disciple that basically mimics and is based off the movement, speed, and flexibility of a tiger, it was thought to be retired as a martial form a long time ago..." Hinata said, surprising everyone.

"So Mika," Lee said, "What brings you here?" he waved back cheerfully to his squad.

"Nice to see you too, Lee" Mika said sarcastically. "We're here to either help or capture you..."

"What?" Lee said incredulously, "Sakura-chan and Naruto-kun have been kidnapped by Sasuke and Konoha is sending out a squad to track ME down? But what are you doing with my squad?"

"I'm your new commander," Mika said.

Lee's mouth dropped comically, "But what about Shikamaru?"

"I'm your new commander," Mika said again simply.

Lee nodded, "I understand," he said, "But we must go liberate Sakura-chan and Naruto-kun, every second we waste is just so much closer they come to being in Orochimaru's grasp,"

Mika nodded and pointed forward, the ANBU getting in their respective groups again, Lee joining in with Mika's group. "Lee-san," Hinata said softly to the worried looking squad leader, "It's okay... we'll get them back..."

Lee nodded, his eyes still focused intently on the ground before him. He still looked worried and his mood was affecting the whole squad, they were all getting just a little jumpy, just a little more nervous, and had just a little larger chance of failing because of it. Lee scolded himself mentally for having a detrimental effect on his team and put on a fake smile, "We can do it!" he said.

The squad's mood considerably lightened as they trudged through the forest, quickly dispatching any enemy ninja in their way. Hinata periodically activated her Byakugan, extending it to her maximum range of eight hundred meters and checking the area for any sign of Naruto and Sakura. Hinata activated her Byakugan one final time and did a quick sweep of the area, her eyes narrowed. "Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan are about seven hundred meters distant Lee-san!"

Lee nodded, "Eagle Squad, move out!" Mika gave him a joking glare and Lee bowed to her, "Would you care to do it Mika-chan?"

"Eagle Squad! Move Out!"

Sakura looked up as she heard a rustling. Her eyes widened as suddenly her squad suddenly appeared from the bushes to her left. She shook her head, trying to undo the gag that had been shoved into her mouth. She heard a choked cry from Lee, he quickly ran to her and removed the gag gently. "Lee-san! It's a trap!"

Lee's eyes widened and he leapt to the side, barely avoiding a hail of kunai. He quickly plucked one from the air easily and flung it at a sound-nin, the kunai slamming into the sound-nin's leg and causing him to fall. "Eagle Squad! Rally to target!" Lee roared.

Tenten, Kiba, and Temari exploded from the treeline, Tenten quickly summoned up several scrolls and launched herself up between the spinning scrolls. She activated the scrolls and began to launch kunai and senbon at the ninja below her. Kiba snarled impressively and ducked under a staff, slamming his palm into the enemy-nin's leg and finishing him off with a sweep of his legs. Temari simply side-stepped a careless enemy nin and slammed him with her fan, causing him to tumble ungraciously into a tree and fall unconscious.

Lee quickly drew a kunai, slashing an attacking ninja's leg and causing him to fall, a quick follow-up elbow to the head and he slumped to the ground unconscious as well. Mika and Hinata stood back to back, both of them knocking enemy ninja unconscious left and right. "Lee-san!" Sakura yelled, "Just get out of here," Sakura flinched as Lee flung his hand out in front of her face, taking the badly thrown kunai that would have killed her in her stead.

Lee smiled oddly, "I will not, I promised to protect you with my life," he said simply. He grimaced and pulled the kunai out of his hand, bleeding freely from the large, jagged wound, "As long as you are in danger I will always be there, remember?" Lee smiled at her kindly and jumped away, kicking an enemy ninja down.

"Hey Lee! That's real sweet and all but we really need to find Naruto!" Kiba yelled. He ducked under an enemy ninja's sword and slashing him across the neck with his claws, "Any ideas?"

"Hinata-chan!"

"Sir?"

"Activate your Byakugan, scan three six zero degrees up to three hundred meters!"

"Yes sir!" Hinata yelled, she quickly activated her Byakugan again. She gasped as she saw her love lying on the ground between Sasuke and another ninja, struggling against his bonds. Hinata ducked, the enemy ninja who had tried to attack her sailing over her and falling clumsily into Tenten's range where a quick kunai silenced him forever. "Naruto-kun's at our north-north-east, seventy meters distant!"

Mika nodded, "Tenten! Kiba! Hinata! Temari! Break off of formation and head over there! Secure the target and head back over here!"

"Ma'am!" Kiba yelled, he motioned to his teammates and after knocking an unlucky sound-nin out, jumped quickly in that direction. Tenten quickly dropped down, rolling up her scrolls with a quick flick of the wrist and ran after him.

Naruto scowled at Sasuke, his struggling ceasing, "What does Orochimaru want with me?" he said, "The Kyuubi?"

Sasuke scoffed, his onyx eyes amused, "The Kyuubi? No, his plan extends much farther than that... underneath the underneath, right dobe?"

"What do you mean teme?"

Sasuke shook his head, the smirk still on his face. "You never even wondered why the Sannin were called the Sannin? Every team in Konoha was and is arranged into three-man cells but only they were ever revered for it. Why do you think that would be?" Sasuke turned around swiftly, he quickly snatched the kunai out the the air and flipped it around, holding it into a throwing posture. "Looks like some people want you back dobe," he said.

Hinata burst forward, her usually calm face urgent, she quickly swiped her hand toward Sasuke, hitting him with a quick burst of chakra. Sasuke jumped back, his cheek bleeding slightly from the force of the chakra. The spy quickly drew a kunai and launched it toward the approaching Tenten. Tenten ducked under the kunai and drew several shuriken, flinging them at the spy. The spy flipped backward, his eyes widening and he barely ducked Kiba's attack, the spy kicked forward, flinging the ANBU into the ground. Kiba growled and flipped back up onto his feet, he reached down and drew the small dagger that was strapped to his leg, he flipped it around and settled into a stance. "You should leave," the spy said, turning to Sasuke, "Take the girl and hurry,"

Sasuke nodded, picking the struggling Naruto up again, "You're going to stay behind?" he said, the spy just nodded. Sasuke nodded back and jumped back quickly, he dropped Naruto roughly and bent over backward, barely dodging another Jyuken strike, he quickly snapped his hand upward and caught the smaller girl's hand in his, "So... what are you going to do now?" he said menacingly. Sasuke blinked in confusion as suddenly chakra was expelled from the girl's arm, forcing his hand off of it with tremendous force, Sasuke backed up and felt three tenketsu on his arm close, he jumped back and quickly blew a fireball at her. Hinata quickly drew her arms up, she didn't have time to do anything else, the fire hit her and she almost fainted immediately from the extreme heat. She fell to her knees, her head swimming and a vague burning feeling still traveling down her arm. Sasuke just walked up to her calmly and kicked her roughly.

Hinata fell forward, hitting the ground painfully, she looked up blearily and saw Sasuke walking away from her, she saw a flash of yellow and realized he was once again carrying Naruto. She groaned and reached forward, catching Sasuke's foot, he looked down in surprise. Hinata was clinging to his foot desperately, trying to hold him back, unable to do much more. "N.. Naruto-kun.." she coughed, tears springing to her eyes.

Sasuke stepped on her arm forcefully, "Hinata-chan!" Naruto yelled, "Let go! He'll hurt you! Just let go!"

Hinata shook her head weakly, "N.. No..." Sasuke continued to stomp on the girl's arm but she still held on resolutely. Sasuke stomped one final time and Hinata felt her hand drop away with a thud. _'I... I thought I'd gotten stronger...'_ she thought grimly as she watched a blurred Sasuke walk away with her love draped over his shoulder, _'But I can't even help the one I love... I'm.. so very sorry... Naruto-kun... I'm not strong enough...' _The last thought cut into her heart painfully and she quietly slipped into unconsciousness, her tears still flowing.

Temari brought her fan up, blocking the spy's sword. It bounced off the metal of her fan and Temari jumped backward, allowing Kiba and Akamaru to slip into the gap. He slid under the spy's attack and slammed his fist into the spy's chest while Akamaru slammed into the back of the spy's legs, causing him to fall backward into Tenten. Tenten flipped her staff, slamming it into the spy, he drew himself low and launched himself on her, both of them attacking each other furiously. Kiba quickly spun the short knife and stabbed at the spy. The spy jumped away quickly, the knife shredding through his robes. He began to form handseals, his hands but a blur as he molded his chakra. He formed several waves of earth and sent them hurtling toward the ANBU. Temari jumped upward and blinked in surprise as the attack wrapped around her leg and slammed her into the ground. Tenten quickly flipped backward, having seen what the attack did to Temari and pushed off of a tree, evading the attack easily. Kiba simply stood his ground and slashed at the attack, the finely honed blade slicing through it with ease. Temari stood back up, her anger evident, she quickly flipped sideways, spinning her fan in an arc. "Kamataichi no Jutsu!" she yelled. The spy flung up his arms, being flung backwards regardless, large gashes appearing on his arms.

Kiba quickly formed several seals, he pumped chakra into his hands and activated the jutsu. "Jinju Konbi Henge!" he yelled, both him and Akamaru fusing together in a burst of smoke. The spy backed away as the two suddenly merged into one large double-headed wolf. "Gatsuga!" Kiba roared, bursting forward, a hurricane of teeth and claws. The spy flipped backward quickly but was too slow, he was caught in the maelstrom, his body being torn to pieces. Kiba stopped the spin, reforming again into a separate person. "Hinata!" he yelled, quickly running to the unconscious member of his genin team and looking her over. She had bad burns on her arms and her arm was bruised, possibly fractured. Kiba quickly laid her safely under a tree and stood back up, anger burning in his eyes. He silently draped a camouflage blanket over her and pointed toward where the main battle was and the three remaining ANBU rushed over quickly.

Mika drew back from the battle, panting heavily, she had not been full combat personnel in almost three years and she was tiring rapidly. She cursed and ducked a couple of shuriken, feeling her muscles strain from the unaccustomed stress, she slammed a small ninja into the ground and jumped away, barely avoiding the ninja's retaliatory leg sweep. She threw herself backward, barely dodging an enemy's punch. The enemy jounin smiled, the ANBU elite was slowing down considerably, in a few minutes she would fall. Mika fell backward, the enemy jounin grinning in triumph. Lee quickly spun and slammed the enemy nin's legs out from under him, "Getting old Mika-chan?" he said with an innocent grin.

Mika stood back up, brushing her clothing off with a small grin, "Aw, I could have handled it Lee," she said, "And anyway, you're like a year older than me,"

Lee just shrugged and turned from his old friend, quickly slamming the back of his fist into the face of the enemy nin, "Get Sakura-chan to safety Mika-chan," he said, slamming a kunai from a nin's hand into the ground before it could fly further than three feet.

Mika quickly helped Sakura stand, her blue eyes glaring at him jokingly once again, "You know, I'm a higher rank than you Lee.." she said.

Lee grinned, drawing an enemy nin into a weak defensive posture and knocking him down, "Then, ANBU Elite Shirotora Mika-sama, would you care to move Sakura-chan to a safer location,"

Mika chortled and cut Sakura's bonds with a flick of her kunai, "Let's go," she said to Sakura, "We're getting you and Naruto outta here,"

She blinked as suddenly Sakura shot her hand out and caught a kunai that had come close to burying itself into into her back, "We need to go get Naruto," she said.

Lee jumped sideways, rolling through a Suiton jutsu and breaking it with his momentum. He spun completely around, hitting the enemy nin with a well aimed back kick and slamming into another with his fists. Lee turned his head, something catching his eye. Lee smiled, maybe it was good that Naruto's hair was so vibrantly yellow, he quickly knocked out three more enemy nin and ran forward, drawing a kunai. Lee jumped, using his speed to his advantage and landing behind Sasuke. The younger Uchiha simply dropped his burden with a thud and blocked the attack that was launched toward him, "You've just made a lethal mistake..." he said coldly. Lee felt himself being pushed back and blinked away some of the sweat that was falling into his eyes. He felt the muscle in his straining left arm snap and fall down to his side, and he flipped backward, stumbling slightly. He had been fighting for almost forty minutes straight without having gotten any sleep for the last several days, he was worn out, right about to collapse from the strains he put on his body. He flung his right arm up to block a kick but then stumbled backward from the force of the blow. Lee blinked away the spots that came to his vision and drew in another ragged breath. He ducked awkwardly as a kunai slashed past his face but couldn't dodge the following slash fast enough. He grunted in pain as a large slash appeared on his immobile left arm, the wound jagged and deep. Sasuke grinned in sick pleasure and kicked the exhausted taijutsu master, sending him sprawling into the underbrush. Lee tried to struggle up but found that he couldn't. He was strong, but even he had his limits. Lee cursed as he stumbled through his psyche, trying feebly to open his second gate. He found it and concentrated on it forcefully, the gate swung halfway open and shut again, he didn't even have the strength to open it. He was helpless. Lee weakly lifted his head, his red eyes meeting the familiar redness of the Sharingan, deep red eyes meeting eyes equally as red. Sasuke stood before him, his eyes triumphant, he drew a kunai and advanced on the taijutsu master. Lee drew into a defensive stance, weakly drawing his one functioning arm across his chest. Sasuke leapt forward, driving the kunai into the side of the defenseless captain's stomach, pinning him to the tree that he was in front of. Lee groaned in pain and Sasuke grinned, drawing another kunai and slamming it into the other side of his stomach, pinning him to the tree, his long legs dangling helplessly. Sasuke smirked sickeningly, his mouth a twisted grin as he watched the squad leader squirm in pain, he drew one final kunai and held it at the the captain's neck. Lee raised his head bravely, trying to ignore the sharp pains coming from his wounds. "You see? If you were more powerful you wouldn't be here and about to die.." Sasuke said, pressing the kunai to the squad leader's throat.

Lee's eyes unfocused and he glanced over Sasuke's shoulder, his eyes lighting back up, Naruto had been carried away by Mika during his fight with Sasuke, "You took the easy way out," he said. "There is no dishonor in dying for the ones you love,"

"Sure," Sasuke said, "That must be really consoling right now," he taunted.

Lee smiled right back at him, his teeth shining brilliantly like they always did, "I have no regrets," he spat, a stream of blood dripping from his mouth.

Sasuke just shook his head in amazement and pressed the kunai harder, drawing a trickle of blood, "A dropout can't beat a genius Lee," he said, "You never even had a chance"

Lee gritted his teeth, the sharp blade cutting slowly into his neck. Two hundred meters away, Akamaru perked up, his nose twitching in the air, he gave a gruff bark and Kiba nodded, immediately understanding, Kiba quickly pulled another small blade from a harness on Akamaru's back and nodded again, both of them exploding away. Sasuke began to slide the kunai, cutting ever more deeply into his helpless opponent's neck. He smirked at the pained look on the squad leader's face, making the cut even slower to prolong his suffering. Sasuke frowned as he heard a sound behind him, jumping backward and barely avoiding Kiba's short blade. Kiba glanced at the blood dripping from the wound on Lee's neck and the bloody kunai in Sasuke hand and exploded, "I'LL KILL YOU!" he yelled, sprinting forward and slashing at Sasuke with his blade.

Sasuke quickly spun his kunai around, blocking the blade deftly. Akamaru quickly jumped behind him and sank his teeth into Sasuke's leg. Sasuke cursed and swung the kunai low, trying to kill the dog when Akamaru suddenly let his leg loose and jumped backward, causing Sasuke to lose his balance. Kiba quickly swept his blade low, burying it in Sasuke's stomach and pulling it out, all in one swift move. Sasuke grimaced as the blade cut into him and pushed away, drawing several shuriken and tossing them all in one motion. Kiba jumped back, using the armguards on his armor to deflect them, Sasuke quickly formed seals and ran forward, the sounds of birds erupting from his hand. Kiba recognized the attack, during a briefing, Kakashi himself had come and taught them how to spot it and recognize it. Kiba flipped to the side, barely dodging the blast. He felt his already badly singed hair burn further as the attack came within inches of his face. Sasuke leapt to the side, driving his elbow into Kiba's stomach and sending him flying. Kiba landed on his hands and flipped back up, swinging his legs near Sasuke's head. Sasuke quickly dodged them and kicked low, knocking Kiba's hands away from the ground. Kiba hit the ground heavily, and Sasuke kicked downward, his foot impacting on the ANBU's chest with a sickening thud. Kiba grimaced and pushed the foot away, flipping backward and throwing several shuriken at Sasuke. Sasuke quickly activated his Chidori Nagashi and deflected the shuriken. Sasuke stepped toward the wounded ANBU again when he heard realized someone was approaching from behind him, "Kamataichi no Jutsu!" Sasuke jumped into the air, flipping forward to avoid landing inside of the hurricane that Temari had blown toward him.

Tenten smiled, drawing a special kunai and aiming carefully. Sasuke spun in the air and noticed immediately that he had made a horrible mistake, he couldn't even change his momentum to try to dodge the kunai. Sasuke activated his Nagashi and bunched the chakra barrier more tightly around his vital organs, protecting them. The kunai zipped upward in the blink of an eye and stabbed into the Nagashi. Sasuke cursed, the kunai had chakra surging through it from the chakra strings that were attached and had cut through his Nagashi. He grabbed at the kunai impaled in his stomach and threw it out, landing defiantly. He surveyed the scene before him, all three ANBU glaring at him menacingly. Sasuke shook his head and smirked, walking away. "You're not running away!" Kiba roared, running toward the traitor.

Tenten's eyes widened and she looped some chakra strings again, attaching them to a shuriken and using it to tie the enraged Kiba to a tree. "Calm down Kiba," she said softly, "We need to get Naruto and Sakura back, HE can wait..."

Kiba took a deep breath and nodded, the anger disappearing from his face, "Yes Ma'am" he said, looking sheepish.

Tenten nodded and walked to where Lee was still hanging on the tree, his head body limp. She gently pulled out the kunai and laid him onto the ground, trying to staunch the blood flowing from her friend's neck. She sighed in relief, it really wasn't that deep, it really could have been worse. "Lee..." she said softly, trying to wake him up, "Hey Lee..."

Temari walked up, Hinata held softly in her arms, "We need to find Mika..." she said, "Let's go,"

Tenten nodded, motioning to Kiba and Temari, "Let's go, everyone stay within visual range of each other," the squad quickly moved into the trees. Kiba carrying Lee and Temari carrying Hinata, Tenten sighed, half of their effective combat force was either unconscious or carrying an unconscious person. Her hand tightened around her kunai as she thought of what Sasuke had done to her friend but she took a deep breath, attempting to forget it, they had a mission to complete.

Mika hit the ground with a thud, her head swimming and her arm bruised. She rolled to the left and avoided her enemy's kunai, Mika quickly jumped back up, spinning low and slashing the enemy nin in the stomach with a kunai and driving it in just under his heart. She dropped to her hands and knees, her breath coming in tortured gasps, she was really at the end of her endurance, she really just couldn't do any more. "Rasengan!" Naruto yelled, slamming his fist into the final enemy nin and killing him instantly. Naruto nodded to Sakura and walked back over to the ANBU elite, his face streaked with sweat, "We should go back and get the others!" he said.

"No!" Mika yelled, struggling back up, "We can't, this is the fallback point! The others will report back here when they get out! If we leave and get captured they won't know where we are!"

"But we can't just leave them in there!" Naruto yelled, "We have to go get them,"

"I completely and totally believe in Lee's capabilities as a squad leader!" Mika yelled back, "He wouldn't just die on us,"

"But what if he does?" Sakura snapped, "Are you willing to take responsibility?"

"I won't have to, I know him better than you do, he'll pull through," Mika said back, now calm.

---

"Ma'am!" a runner screamed, "The third defensive line has been penetrated! We have to leave right now!"

High Commander Shirotora shook her head, "We're not moving from this position! Tell all remaining ANBU forces to converge and hold this position!"

The runner shook his head, his mask flopping on his terrified face, "That's the thing Commander! THERE AREN'T ANY REMAINING FORCES! WE HAVE TO FALL BACK!"

The Commander held up her hand, cutting off the hysterical ANBU, "We need to hold this part of the line, if we don't, then we may as well invite them right into Konoha," she drew a medium sized sword from the sheath on her back and motioned to the runner, "Come on, take up battle positions,"

"I.. I'm not a f.. fighter..." the runner said, "I'll g.. go get help..." with that the runner ran down the path back to Konoha, leaving the stunned looking Elite standing where he left her.

HighCom 4 frowned in annoyance and placed Rai on the ground, "Go wait for me in Konoha," she ordered. Rai looked up at her, seemingly asking IF she would be able to come back, "Don't worry about me.." she whispered, "I'll be okay.." Rai still looked unbelieving and she pushed the reluctant cat into the bushes, her eyes tearing slightly, "I won't let them beat me..." she whispered, her azure eyes becoming firm. She ran forward, draping a camouflage blanket over herself and hiding in the bushes outside of the C.P. She quickly tried to slow her breathing but found she couldn't, she was too afraid. She shook her head and squelched her emotions, feeling the coldness of her ANBU persona taking over. She saw several advance scouts sneak into the camp and motion to their commander, apparently certain that she had moved on and abandoned the C.P. She held her breath, trying to be as still as possible. Soon, the clearing was filled with the enemy nin and she took a deep breath. She ripped the camouflage blanket off of her and jumped up, launching several kunai and shuriken into the mass. Her eyes widened as several jutsu were sent flying toward her but dodged them quickly, a lightning jutsu grazing her leg and burning into it painfully.

"A Konoha Elite?" The platoon leader said incredulously, "What are you still doing here?"

HighCom 4 grimaced and reached down, quickly wrapping a bandage around the burn, "My duty," she snarled. The platoon leader just shook his head in amazement and motioned his units forward. HighCom 4 jumped backwards, avoiding several kunai and dodged to the side, an enemy nin flying past her, she quickly twisted in the air and kicked him in the back, immediately knocking him unconscious. An enemy nin moved in close and lunged at the Elite, she quickly rolled back, absorbed the enemy nin's weight into her own, propelled him off of her using their combined weight, and rolled back upright in one fluid motion. She dodged to the side, barely avoiding a kunai and threw one of her own at the enemy nin who threw it, killing him instantly. She stood back up slowly, her leg throbbing painfully and turned to meet the incoming charge of the enemy. There were too many, even for her, it seemed impossible.

"Eagle Squad! Rally to target and attack at your own discretion!" a voice yelled. HighCom 4 spun around, her blue eyes searching the treeline behind her. Several blurs erupted from the trees, each flying toward their enemy. "Formation four!" the squad leader yelled, "Hit them from the center!" The squad quickly jumped into a tight formation, two in front and the rest huddle up behind them. The enemy quickly retaliated by throwing several kunai and shuriken at the massed squad. HighCom 4 grimaced and looked away, there was going to be terrible slaughter amongst the huddled ANBU masses, their squad leader had pulled them together too tightly. Eagle One looked amused, "Eagle Four!" he yelled.

Eagle Four nodded and jumped in front of the column, her body pulsing with chakra as she drew it into her. "Daikaiten!" she screamed, spinning her body to dynamic effect. Enemy ninja fell as their own kunai fell back on top of their heads.

Eagle One nodded again and Eagle Two launched herself out of the formation, unrolling a large scroll and activating it, "Tobidogu!" Eagle Two yelled, hailing the unfortunate enemy ninja with an arsenal of weaponry. Eagle Four stopped the spin right on time, the weapons whistling past her and hailing down on their enemies. Eagle Four landed quickly and ran forward, slamming her palm into an enemy nin's chest and knocking him unconscious. Eagle One pointed downward and the remaining ANBU fell downward, landing in the middle of the enemy formation. HighCom 4 shuddered as several enemy ninja died, the squad lashing out and killing or incapacitating every enemy ninja in range.

Eagle One checked the area for any more enemy nins and drew a hand across his neck in the gesture to stop. The squad halted everything immediately, each one scanning their assigned section for enemies. He motioned to Eagle Four to activate her kekkai genkai and survey the surrounding area and she shook her head, indicating that the area was clear. Eagle One swiftly motioned to his team and walked over to where HighCom 4 stood, still stunned. "HighCom 4" Eagle One said, "Our squad is here to evacuate you back to the Main Command Post, please follow us ma'am,"

HighCom 4 nodded, recognizing the man behind the mask immediately, "Understood, Captain" she said. Eagle One nodded and walked away, his squad behind him, HighCom 4 fell in behind him and leaned forward, smiling under her mask, "That was some really good timing Lee" she whispered.

Eagle One looked back at her, his eyes soft, "We cannot leave our friends in such a difficult situation can we?" he said.

---

"Sakura!" Tenten yelled as soon as they got close to the fallback point, "We need you! Lee and Hinata are injured!"

Sakura quickly jumped up and ran to the other part of the squad, her eyes widening as she saw the extent of their injuries. "They're both really badly injured," she said, "Hinata-chan has bad burns on her arms and Lee-san has lost lots of blood, we need to work on them right now!" Sakura quickly pulled on her gloves and reached over to Lee, he was still bleeding faintly, his face now a ghastly white color.

Lee opened his eyes and coughed, "Take care of her first..." he said, a shaking hand pointing to Hinata.

"Lee! This is no time to be a hero damn it!" Sakura yelled, "You've lost a lot of blood and you could die! We need to help you!"

Tenten nodded, seeing her friend's seriousness, "Sakura, you start working on Hinata, we'll keep Lee in a stable condition with the seals" Sakura nodded and Tenten once again marked both their seals. Sakura quickly turned Hinata over, healing the burns on her arms and waking her up with a small burst of chakra. She then moved to Lee, Tenten stepping away to give her room to work on him.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto yelled, "You were really brave back there!"

Hinata blushed, her face turning incredibly red. "T.. Thank y.. you Naruto-k..kun..." she said. She almost fainted from her joy, she felt like she was floating, HE had complimented her, HE had noticed her, it was like she was dreaming.

Tenten walked over to the blushing girl, sorry she had to ask what she did, "Hinata-chan?" she said softly, "We need you to use your Byakugan and check around us okay?"

Hinata nodded, duty taking over, "Yes Ma'am," she said, activating her Byakugan. She extended the range to about 100 meters and gasped. Tenten frowned, that couldn't be a good sign. "About a battalion moving in from the north!" Hinata yelled, her eyes still wide with fright.

Tenten's eyes almost jumped out of her head as well, "A BATTALION?" she yelled.

"A battalion? How many people is that?" Naruto asked.

"Roughly a thousand," Lee said, standing back up shakily, "We will switch over to our emergency plan then," he said, turning to Tenten, "Please begin the preparations,"

Tenten groaned and pulled out several smaller scrolls, arranging them in a circle around the squad, "I HATE the emergency plan..." she muttered. She quickly looked to the two new members of the squad, "Okay, we're going to attempt a mass Shunshin no Jutsu, you can't step outside of the circle of scrolls, you won't be able to get back in, also, you can't mold chakra or it'll interfere with mine and the Shunshin'll fail, is that understood?" Naruto and Sakura nodded, both of them sitting where they stood, Tenten nodded to Lee and formed several seals, forcing a large amount of chakra into the scroll she held in her hands, a blue circle of chakra began to form around the squad and everyone started to flicker slowly, "Shunshin no Jutsu!" Tenten yelled.

Naruto watched his hands as they began to flicker faster and faster, "Weird..." he said.

Lee jerked his head up, his eyes urgent, he quickly jumped up and smacked the kunai that had come incredibly close to Tenten's head away, "Enemy ninja incoming!" he yelled. Enemy ninja began to pour into the clearing, all of them advancing toward the helpless squad. Lee looked around, taking note of the situation quickly. "Eagle Two, you have command," he said. Tenten looked at him with her eyes wide and Lee smiled back, he quickly jumped out of the circle, hearing a popping sound and a pulling sensation as he broke out of the jutsu.

"Lee-san!" Sakura screamed, moving to leave the circle as well. Temari grabbed her tightly and kept her from moving. "Lee-san!" she yelled again, trying to push off Temari.

"There's nothing you can do to help him," Temari said, sadness creeping into her voice. "We need to make his sacrifice worth something..."

Tenten gritted her teeth, tears falling from her eyes quickly. She pressed more chakra into the scroll and the squad began to flicker more quickly. Lee dodged to the right, the sword grazing his chest regardless. He spun low around his opponent, knocking him off of his feet and followed it up with a punch that immediately knocked him out. Lee felt himself tiring, he could barely move in time to keep up with his enemies. The taijutsu master turned, feeling someone behind him, but he turned too slowly, the cloud-nin's elbow thudding sickeningly into his stomach. He fell to his knees, trying to remain conscious when another several nin attacked him, beating him into unconsciousness. Tenten looked away, she couldn't watch any more. The enemy nin moved on from the still body of the squad leader and advanced onto the squad. Hinata looked around at the people she had come to see as her family, her eyes resting on Naruto, her inspiration. She had always loved him, but she had never shown it with her actions, she hadn't even been strong enough to save him when he needed her. Her hands clenched and chakra pulsed through her body. This time, she would protect him, this time, she would prove her love. Tenten's eyes widened as suddenly Hinata ran out of the circle, her white eyes set determinedly. "Hinata-chan!" Naruto yelled.

_'Watch me Naruto-kun..'_ she thought, _'I will finally protect you...' _Hinata took a deep breath, her chakra flaring ever slightly. She quickly formed a seal and focused her chakra into a needle-thin line, her palms glowing. "Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho!" she yelled. Beams of chakra projected from her hands and she opened her maximum of three heavenly gates to keep her conscious, she quickly formed a swirling wall of chakra, protecting her friends from any attacks that the enemies could possibly use.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto yelled, forming a seal.

"Damn it!" Kiba yelled, wrenching Naruto's hands out of the seal, "Weren't you listening when Tenten said not to mold chakra?"

"We can't just leave her here!" Naruto yelled back.

Tenten shook her head, "We have to, we have no other choice..." she forced the final amount of chakra into the seal, her tears falling gently onto the scroll in her hands.

Hinata felt light-headed from the amount of chakra she was exerting. Her hands nothing but a blur as they projected chakra into lines that cut kunai and jutsu in half. She heard the familiar pop behind her and saw as a massive cloud of smoke enveloped the surroundings. She smiled, knowing that her friends and her idol were okay and collapsed, shaking gently from chakra exhaustion.

The enemy leader shook his head, annoyed that the other ninja had gotten away, he pointed to the two Konoha ninja that were lying inert on the ground, "Take them, we're going back to Kumogakure... the Raikage may want a word with them,"

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A guard chunin blinked as suddenly a previously empty patch of ground erupted in smoke. The squad lay on the ground, each grimacing in pain. Mika struggled up, her aching lungs throbbing painfully, "We need to speak to the Hokage.." she said.

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Notes: It's amazing everyone! I'm still alive! No seriously... I am... Anyway, here's the latest and hopefully the greatest, hot off of Openoffice and here for your viewing pleasure! I'm sorry for the late update, I was having an epic struggle with the writer's block fairy. To get this chapter done, I basically had to lock myself in a room witha glass of water and my computer and demand to myself that I type. So enjoy! And review! Both! Still trying to achieve 50 reviews people. Review like the wind!

Please review everyone! R & R! It's the best! I'm practically begging you!

**J00B3R Thanks to SapphireWhiteTigress for BETA-ing this story and giving me all sorts of encouragement while I was struggling. Just as a little heads-up, without her I most likely would have scrapped this fic. She's the one that kept this going so thank her for this chapter not me, she's the greatest.**

Quote of the update: Neji: Gay Smile:D, icons are made There were... Eight birds... after all...

**If you'rea Rock Lee fan visit my profile! There's a link to a forum that I've recently created for Lee fans. Please come check it out. **

Review Replies

**SapphireWhiteTigress: **How can I ever express my thanks to her? She keeps this story going, she's a great friend, a greater writer than I can ever hope to be and also just plain awesome to boot. Thank you Sapphire-hime, without you, this story would be nothing and would be deleted. Everyone that enjoys this chapter owes you thanks and I owe you thanks the most. So thank you, hime. And of course I'm also you're fanboy so !1oneoneoneone11111!1!11oneone!one right back at you. You rock!

**K.C: **All shall be revealed in time. Thanks for continuing to read this story and your great reviews. I'm sad Gai had to die too :(. I like Gai... he makes every situation lighter...

**anime girl987:** -looks around stealthily- There are things much more important happening than a squabble over the Kyuubi. The Tears of Blood Approacheth. Heheh, I really like making vague comments... like... the locust flies into the sun.. or something like that...

**VASHD1:** OMG I SPELLED YOUR NAME RIGHT! Haha, just kidding. I'll do my best good sir.

**Edward Sushi:** AMAZING! Those pictures were stupendous! I love them, they're very good and I willpost the links to myprofile page as soon as I can. Wow, I can honestly say that that was the longest, most concise review I have ever recieved. It mixed the good and the bad and I think it really helped me. I just want to say though, that Lee isn't getting any more power than everyone else will in the end -coughcough- About Lee's comment on Gai, I dunno, I think I explained sufficently that Gai acted overjoyed and wore those clothes because he was trying to keep himself from being able to move on and Neji called him odd, since he didn't know the reasoning behind it so Lee would just say Gai was troubled... no? The Lee's past scene becomes rather important later. Some of the things you pointed out were actually foreshadowing... but lol that's okay!Thanks!

**iyaerP:** ... your name is hard to spell. lol. Thanks! I'm glad you think so. The Gates of Susanoo will be explained later. I dunno, maybe I should make a big "to be explained later" list? lol Thanks for the review.

**The Universal Cynic:** Go away

**GoodDevil1989: **Thanks! Well here it is! Enjoy!

**Animelover5.6:** Wow thanks for the review. I hope this new chapter is to your liking. I really like your LeeSaku fics btw. XD

**the dude lebowski:** Well Sai will be in the next chapter, we all get to see the little artist again. Thanks for the positive encouragement and all of the praise, it was very helpful! Don't worry, I'll try not to let that moron get on my nerves too much. Thanks so much.

**Quietchick:** Thanks! I still have lots of twists coming up so I hope you enjoy them all! Thanks for the review!

**Kodachi1: **Thank you, I do my best to make the battles seem at least slightly tactical and pretty entertaining. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the previous ones.

**Chip-chop:** ... thanks!

**Tylanol:** HAHA! Yeah! That's a great idea! Anyone want to call Mr. Kishimoto and get the deal down? lol. Thanks for the review.

**Original-Monkey-Girl:** Thanks! I really set out during this fic to do my best to capture Lee and I'm glad to see that I seem to be succeeding. About the Sakura, don't worry, I'm glad to finally drop the annoying "SAAAASSSSSUUUUUKKKKEEEEEE-KUUUUUUN"

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! And for everyone else, COME ON! REVIEW! You know you wanna...

**Note: Some things are foreshadowing and not errors in continuity or otherwise. Please, please do not tell me something is wrong that isn't, everything will be progressively explained, so if you would just hold on I would really appreciate it. Feel free to ask questions but dont' tell me a fact or something is wrong.. please... it's really distracting. I know what I'm doing as much as it may not seem like it. **


	9. Chapter Eight: Prepare

Eagle One

Chapter Eight: Prepare

Disclaimer: Mr. Masashi Kishimoto is the brilliant mastermind who owns the Naruto series. I unfortunately and to my deepest regrets don't own anything about it except my little fanfiction.

**Crucial Author's Notes! People, look I may not seem like it but I've really figured out everything I want to do with this, so please please please don't tell me a fact is wrong when in actuality it's only wrong because of something you haven't learned yet! PLEASE!**  
I would have that in flashing letters if possible...

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He stood silently, his eyes still as false as they ever were, "I will bid you leave Raikage-sama," he said cheerfully. He turned, keeping his wits about him, ready as always to turn and fight if the need arose. His hands drifted subconsciously toward the scroll that was slung around his waist as he felt a hand on his shoulder, "What do you want Captain?" he said innocently.

"We have two ANBU that we captured from Konoha, they have been identified as Hyuuga Hinata of the Hyuuga Clan originating from Northeast Konohagakure and Kazangan Lee of the Kazangan Clan originating from South Iwagakure." The spy found something wrong with the way the guard was smiling, it was filled with menace, more of a leer then a true smile, "We would like you to come and help us interrogate them,"

The spy tried to keep his breathing as level and normal as possible, "I don't see why you would want me to assist you," he said, "It seems to me that your men should be sufficient,"

"Well we would like you to assist us, it would serve to prove your loyalty to our Raikage," the Captain replied, his cold black eyes searching for any sign of tension.

"Very well then, if it for the Raikage," the spy said, "Just don't use up too much of my time, I must get back to Konohagakure by the morning or their Hokage will become suspicious." The spy followed the Captain to a building that was a couple hundred feet behind the castle and descended several stairs, winding downward into a dark room that looked more like a cave than a man-made structure. The spy grimaced as he saw them, two faces that were shockingly familiar. The two stared at him in absolute astonishment, unsure of what to think or believe. The spy stopped, his new emotions and his old self battling in his mind, "I don't see why you'd need my help," he said again, allowing a small smirk to cross his face defiantly, "Don't tell me you need my help to deal with two bound Leaf nin?"

The Captain bristled at the insult but kept his face straight, "Well if your dedication is as true as the Raikage would have us believe, then you must have no objection to helping us extract information from these two,"

The spy smiled and turned, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture behind him, "It's not even worth it,"

The Captain strode forward and placed his hand heavily on the spy's shoulder, the spy half-turning in his direction with a sort of amused interest, "Will you do the opening honors?" the Captain asked, gesturing to the bound captain who simply glared back at him, his eyes fearless.

The spy tried to keep the frown off of his face. _'Red eyes? Since when..'_ he banished that thought immediately. He had to complete the mission presented to him by the Hokage. His friends were going to hate him for what he had to do. He pulled out a wicked looking kunai from his belt rather than his kunai holster and advanced slowly. _'Forgive me,'_ he thought briefly. He stopped in front of the bound captain, red meeting black, both ninja staring at each other silently. The captain noticed the small kanji on the side of the kunai and blinked in surprise, where had he gotten that? The spy drew in a breath as the bound captain gave a barely noticeable nod, the spy gripped the kunai tighter and plunged it into the Captain's arm, ripping into it and cutting painfully deeply. The sound of pained cries rent the air, and it was all that the spy could do to keep his face into the cruel grin, his eyes still on the Captain's, begging him silently for forgiveness.

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Tenten sat down heavily onto the bench in the mobilization room, tossing her armor in a clump into her locker, not even bothering to close the door. She buried her head in her hands, she wanted to cry so much, but she couldn't, not now, she was now the leader of their torn squad and she had to be strong. "Eagle Squad," she croaked, "Dismissed,"

Kiba sat down heavily next to her, his eyes watery but denying himself the comfort of tears if his squadmate wouldn't allow it for herself. Temari stood nearby, her head leaned against her locker, tears running freely down her face. She was taught in Suna that death and loss was a natural part of a mission, a crucial part, nothing more, but it was much more, her friends had been lost and she could do nothing about it, a sense of helplessness flooded her mind as she cried brokenly, going to sit near the rest of her squad. Kiba smiled through his pain suddenly, his face lighting up as he remembered some of the times that the squad had together, "Hey guys," he said, chuckling softly, his watery eyes contorting into a smile of both mirth and pain. "Remember that time Genma gave Lee some of his sake on accident?"

Temari smiled too, her eyes becoming distant as she remembered it, "Yeah... Lee destroyed about half the Cloud platoon before going to sleep," she chuckled, "I still remember the look on Genma's face,"

"Really?" a voice called. "I don't look THAT funny do I?"

Tenten jerked her head up, her eyes landing on the tall ninja that was standing in the doorway, "Hey Genma..." she said, "Welcome back..."

Genma walked over, standing by them his eyes surveying the familiar room, "Wow, and I thought I wouldn't be welcome here anymore," he said.

"You'll always be welcome here Genma," Tenten said, "You may not be an ANBU anymore, but you're still an Eagle,"

Genma nodded, unconsciously rubbing the area where the Eagle insignia had been burned, "I guess so..." he said. His cheerful demeanor fell for a moment, "I heard..."

"We couldn't do anything about it," Kiba said bitterly, "We would have stayed given half the chance," he looked angry, "Hell, we shouldn't even have been on that half-assed mission..."

"Kiba..." Tenten said softly, "Easy..."

Kiba nodded, his eyes falling back onto the ground, the brown globes still threatening to betray him and tear up. "You tried a Mass Shunshin didn't you?" Genma asked quietly. "Why?"

Tenten shook her head as she remembered the battle that had occurred, "We were surrounded, we were trying to extract Naruto and Sakura out of the battle zone, Lee had made that the primary objective, and get them back to Konoha..."

Genma blinked, his eyes searching the new squad leader's expressionless face, "Sakura and Naruto?"

Temari nodded, "They're the replacements for you and Shizune apparently,"

Genma looked startled, "The Council finally has him off of lockdown?"

Tenten shook her head, "The Council no longer has the ability to authorize anyone anywhere,"

Genma looked her in the eyes, his expression startled, "So they really went through with it? Who went?"

Tenten nodded, "Every squad leader and their second was called out for a 'special' op. We basically entered the Council's grounds and forced them to relieve their authority to the Hokage,"

Genma nodded and opened his mouth to speak when suddenly the door was flung open, a distraught looking Shizune running inside. Shizune had tears welling up in her dark eyes, "Is it true?" she asked simply looking at each member of the squad in turn. "Is it true?" the squad members all turned away sharply, giving her no answer. Shizune understood immediately, sinking down onto the ground, "No.." she whispered, her tears running freely down her face, "They said... but I didn't want to believe it... I just... hoped..."

Genma went over, consoling the openly weeping woman, "Yeah, I know what you mean... that's why I came too..."

Temari stood up, her eyes blazing with a new fury, "Why do you even care?" she spat, "You left us! We were a team! A family... and you left,"

Genma looked down, his eyes sadly setting onto the ground, "I won't try to excuse what I did," he muttered, "But you'll understand why in a couple of years... and you'll want out too.."

Kiba scoffed, gesturing toward the Eagle tattoo that Genma had on his arm, "We promised each other that we would always be there for one another when we got those... did you forget that already?"

Genma's eyes suddenly flashed with anger too, "Well let's see how you feel about that when you serve for about four years,"

Temari shook her head, "Don't give us that, you've only served one year longer than Lee has.."

Genma stood up angrily, "You wouldn't understand," he muttered. He walked away quickly, turning at the door, the squad froze, the look on his face was filled with sorrow, "I.. I'm sorry guys... I just can't do it anymore.."

"Genma!" Tenten yelled. Genma just nodded once and walked through the door. Tenten slumped back down as their longtime teammate simply left them again. "So that's three we've lost now..." she muttered.

Kiba sighed and rubbed his eyes, "We need to go do something," he muttered, "We can't just sit here and mope.." he looked up, "Wanna hit Hirugohan's and get something to eat?"

Temari nodded, "Right, we can't just sit here in the dark and cry over something we can't change..." she stood up and stretched slightly, "Hirugohan's it is?"

Tenten bit back a laugh as she remembered an incident that happened the day of their graduation, and immediately regretted it, the memory hitting her with full force.

---

"Squad Fifteen!" Lee yelled, holding up a glass of water.

"Fifteen!" Everyone yelled, holding up their own glasses. Temari smirked across the table at their squad leader and laughed, "Water, Lee? You too good to have some sake with us?" she sighed, "You're just like the other seasoned vets, too good to mess with us rookies,"

Tenten also began to laugh, "Giving Lee alcohol is possibly the stupidest thing you could ever do,"

Kiba perked up at that announcement as well, "Why?"

Tenten shook her head, still shaking with mirth, "Lee gets just a tiny bit different when he's drunk..."

Kiba smiled, imagining a funny scene, "Oh is that so? I'll be right back..." he stood up, everyone's eyes staring at him inquiringly, "Bathroom," he said simply and walked away.

Lee quickly drank the rest of his water and smiled at everyone, "So how does it feel to be official members of the ANBU everyone?" he said.

Tenten nudged him playfully, "You tell us 'Captain' you've been an ANBU easily two times longer than all of us first-year rookies,"

Lee grinned right back, "Fair enough Tenten-chan," he said, his eyes moving around to each member of his squad in turn, "It feels great!" he stood up, "I have been in two other squads, Squad Tempest and Squad Razor and neither of them showed as much promise as we do right at this moment!"

Temari smiled, "Is that true or are you just saying that to make us feel better?"

"Maybe a little of both?" Tenten shot in. Lee just shook with laughter as he shook his head. Tenten frowned, nudging the small girl next to them, "C'mon Hinata-chan, say something! We graduated!"

Hinata smiled shyly and looked down, "If I had to die fighting by anyone... I would rather it be with this squad than any others..."

"Here, here!" Kiba yelled, raising his cup. Everyone glanced at him, they hadn't noticed him coming back, Kiba just smiled at them innocently. "Let's have a toast to that!"

"Captain?" Tenten said, asking for mock permission.

"Of course second captain," Lee said, "Carry on,"

"To Squad Fifteen! The best squad in all of ANBU!" Tenten yelled, quickly draining her entire drink in one gulp.

"Squad Fifteen!" everyone yelled again for what must have been the fifth time that night. Lee smiled, he was glad to see how close everyone was in his squad, his previous two squads had been divided sharply by seniority and he had attempted not to do that to his squad. He quickly drained his glass and felt a burning sensation in his throat and stomach. Everyone froze as their squad leader suddenly shook his head, "Kiba... why did you do that?" Lee said.

Kiba grinned, "Because if anyone, you need to loosen up man,"

Tenten saw the slight blush forming already and fear started welling up in her, "Um... Kiba, Temari, we're going to need to get him out of here..."

Temari blinked, she was fairly drunk but not enough to miss the seriousness in her friend's voice, "What are you talking about?"

Tenten shook her head, "Don't question it, just do it," she glared at Kiba who was still grinning, obviously pleased with himself, "And any damages to this place are coming out of your mission pay,"

Lee suddenly lurched to the side, his sense of balance fading quickly, "Tenten-chan... hurry," he said, trying to resist the urge to smack the person at the other table who was glaring at him with obviously hostile intent. Lee tried to hold it in but failed, "HEY! WHADDAYA THINK YOU'RE STARING AT? HUH?"

Tenten grimaced and grabbed her squad leader, "We have to get him out of here," she nodded to Kiba, "You're the fastest, go find Shizune and ask her for the solution that she made to make Lee sober again,"

Kiba blinked, "It can't be that bad right? I mean..." he was cut off by a crash as Lee suddenly lunged over the table at a waiter, screaming something about staring at a person for doing nothing. Kiba jumped forward and tried to catch his squad leader, his eyes widened as Lee simply jumped over his tackle and continued to lurch forward.

"Kiba! Get to Shizune! Now!" Tenten yelled, unrolling her scroll and retrieving a small net, "Go!" she yelled. Tenten swung the net over her head and threw it, Lee just half-turned in her direction and flipped backward, missing the net entirely. Tenten smirked, he was different now from the Lee that was their Captain, their captain would never had made such a careless move, she spun, loosing several chakra threads from her finger tips and whipping them around the squad leader, Lee looked confused as he slammed into the ground, bound with the numerous chakra fibers. "Temari," Tenten said, smiling, it was a little funny after all, "Let's get him out of here,"

"WHAT? Afraid to fight fair? Huh? C'mon! I'll take both of you on! You can't beat me in the springtime of my youth!" a very drunk Lee yelled as they dragged him outside. Tenten chuckled, he was really funny when he was like that, "I can beat you!" he yelled again.

Several minutes later Kiba ran up to them, one of his hands wrapped tightly around a vial, "got it," he said.

---

Tenten nodded, "I guess we're going to Hirugohan's" she said. She stood up, her hand still shaking gently.

"Excuse us, are you Second Captain, Ara Tenten of Eagle Squad?" a voice called.

Tenten jerked around, her eyes landing on two ninja who were standing in the doorway, their uniforms identified them as ANBU level one's, probably straight out of basic concealment and tactical training, "I am," she said, she frowned, her eyes meeting the small boxes the rookies were holding, "What do you need?"

The first walked up, handing a sheet of paper to Tenten. She blinked in surprise, "We're ordered to fill the gaps in your squad in the stead of ANBU level one, Hyuuga Hinata, and ANBU Captain, Rock Lee effective immediately," he said. "We're here to clean out their lockers,"

Shizune's eyes flashed defiantly, "Don't you dare touch them," she said, "Get out,"

The rookie blinked in surprise, "But ma'am we have orders.."

Temari stood up, "Well I'm an ANBU Level two, thus outrank you and I ORDER you to leave right now,"

"Ma'am our orders are direct from High Commander Nara," the rookie said, looking down, "You do not possess the authority to rescind them,"

Temari frowned, "Shiki-kun said that?" the rookie stared at her and she coughed slightly, "Inform High Commander Nara that he better rescind those orders or he might as well not come home for a week,"

"We have our orders," the other rookie said, trying to strong-arm his way to the locker, he pushed Temari out of the way and walked over to the locker, opening it and ripping the old Eagle mask off of the hook that it hung off of, dropping the mask on the floor carelessly.

The rookie froze, his eyes widening, "Put it back," Kiba said softly, scraping the dagger against the rookie's back, "Put Lee's mask back, and get out of my sight, you're not part of our squad, and you're never going to be,"

The rookie gulped, all of the arrogance he had shown before melting away, "Look... they're gone... you can't..."

Kiba dug the dagger into the rookie's back, "Put it back," he said menacingly, "They may be gone, but you're not going to take their place..." he watched as the rookie slowly picked the mask back up and sheathed the dagger again, pushing the rookie away from the locker, "Now get out of my sight," he growled. The rookies glared at him but left quickly, undoubtedly going to talk to their commander.

"I can see why veterans always hate rookies now," Temari said.

Tenten stood up, her eyes hard on Kiba, "Did you just pull a weapon on a fellow ANBU?" she said quietly, "You know better than that Kiba..."

Kiba nodded, the anger still in his eyes, he slowly opened the door of the locker and hung the mask up properly, the black engravings shining from the lights, "They're not going to replace them," Kiba muttered, "We're a family, they're not just going to barge in here and be accepted that easily... damn replacements... they don't know anything about what we've been through together and they still act like they know what a real team is..."

Shizune patted Kiba on the back, "Calm down Kiba," she said calmingly. She took a deep breath, she was the oldest and had a duty to help them when they needed it, even if she wasn't officially in the squad anymore, "Let's all go to Hirugohan's now, I'll pay if you guys want,"

Tenten nodded, her tired eyes drifting to her, "Okay then Shizune-san," she turned and smiled, snapping a thin chakra string around the handle to the two lockers, she quickly withdrew her chakra, leaving a small glimmering strand tightly securing the lockers shut. She smiled, no one was going to be able to open them without her knowing. She nodded, "Let's go,"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakura looked down, tears still welling in her eyes, Tsunade continued to rage on, her voice crescendoing magnificently. Sakura could only pick out certain words but the message was clear. "I'm sorry sensei..." she muttered quietly, clenching her hands tightly, "I... I don't know what came over me..." tears fell anew as she looked up, her green eyes begging for forgiveness, "I'm sorry..."

Tsunade scoffed, her anger visible in her eyes. "Tell that to the families of the eleven ninja that were killed by him in Konoha's walls! Tell that to the mothers of the two genin that died! You're sorry? Do you really think that that's enough?"

Sakura hung her head again, "So what should I do Tsunade-sensei?" she practically begged, "I don't know how to make up for this.."

Tsunade's eyes softened for a moment, "Start by giving me a reason, tell me why you act so differently around him..."

Sakura sighed, her small frame shaking with her grief, "I.. I don't know... whenever he's close to me... I feel so... unworthy and... and I feel so weak... I just wanted his acceptance..."

Tsunade shook her head, "Do you think that's love Sakura?" she said critically, "Do you think that when you love someone you feel that way?"

Sakura wept brokenly into her hands, "I DON'T KNOW!" she yelled, "I don't know what it feels like to be loved! I just want someone to love me!"

Tsunade stiffened and her eyes softened, "But why do you want him to love you Sakura?" she said softly, "If he makes you feel that way... why?"

Sakura sighed, her eyes still red from her tears, "Because he's the boy everyone loves! If I get him to love me than I can finally be accepted!" she shook her head furiously, "Then I can finally prove my worth to everyone.."

Tsunade shook her head sadly, "You don't really love him do you?" she said, "You just want to use him to prove yourself..."

Sakura's eyes widened and she looked down awkwardly, "N..No! I.. I love him.." she looked indecisive, "Right?"

Tsunade sighed, "Don't you know?" she asked, "Odd that you wouldn't even know if you loved him,"

Sakura sighed, "I'm not even sure anymore," she muttered, absentmindedly petting Tsunade's pet pig Ton-Ton. She shook her head, "I don't know... I might.." Sakura looked back up, "Am I going to be punished for this?" she said softly, "I don't mind if I am.."

Tsunade sighed. "Well what's done is done... and we need all of the ninja we can muster... you're on lockdown in the village for the next two weeks, if you leave the village in that time, I will level additional punishment... is that understood?"

"Yes Tsunade-sensei.." Sakura said softly. She looked up, her eyes concerned, "What's going to happen to Lee-san and Hinata-san?"

Tsunade shook her head, "Who knows, the Raikage isn't on friendly terms with us, especially not recently, he may decide to kill them... or interrogate them for information..."

Sakura stood up quickly, her mind racing._As long as you are in danger I will always be there, remember? _"So we're just going to leave him there?" Sakura exclaimed.

"We have no choice," Tsunade said, "We don't negotiate for the return of ANBU, they knew the risks they were taking when they accepted the mission..."

_As long as you are in danger I will always be there, remember?_ "But there must be a way!" Sakura screamed, surprising herself with the volume of her own voice. "Send another ANBU team in! Get them out!"

"ANBU risk their lives everyday, it's their job... we can't risk anyone else's life to save two.."

_"_Please sensei!" Sakura yelled, "I'll go if I have to, just please get them back!"

Tsunade shook her head, "No one's going. This is the end of the argument," Tsunade pointed at the door, obviously telling her to leave.

"But..."

"No," Tsunade said, "I have work to do, please leave," Sakura sighed and stood, her green eyes still begging with her sensei silently, Tsunade just continued to point at the door and Sakura walked outside into the seemingly blinding sunlight.  
---

Sakura POV:

What had I done? Because of my stupid actions he was gone.. and he would never be back. I guess I never really appreciated him like I should have. He was always there... even when I ignored him, he still came to me and saved my life. I'm stupid... so stupid, always chasing after everyone else and seeking their approval instead of living my own damn life... I thought I changed, I thought I got stronger... didn't I? Did I fail? Does it matter? I wish I knew. He had to save me again, save me because I was too weak to save myself. I promised myself in the Forest of Death, I even promised Naruto that I would become stronger and finally be able to lead, not just follow and watch everyone from the back. I tried my hardest, I honestly did, but when it came down to it... the result was the exact same.. I am worthless after all.

Mixed POV:

Naruto sighed and kept walking, the loss of two of his friends weighing heavily on him, he frowned as he saw Sakura walking down the street dejectedly. He quickly caught up to her and blinked in astonishment, she was so deep in thought that she didn't even acknowledge him, not even when he was standing right next to her, "Hey Sakura-chan," he said softly.

Sakura jumped, her green eyes turning restlessly to the blond boy next to her, "Oh... hey Naruto.." she said. "C'mon, let's walk together..." Naruto nodded and they walked together for a short time, Naruto staying in step behind her casually. Sakura could sense the tension between them, a sort of lingering feeling in the air. She pretended not to notice, her face still set in a sort of pained grin.

Naruto sighed, finally dropping the charade, unable to hold back his emotions any longer, "Sakura-chan," he said seriously, "You asked Granny Tsunade about Hinata-chan and Lee-san right? What did she say? When's the mission leaving? Is it already set who's gonna go?"

Sakura sighed, shaking her head sadly, "That's just it Naruto..." she said, "They say there isn't going to be a rescue mission..."

Naruto swelled up, "No way!" he yelled, "We can't just leave them there,"

Sakura nodded, her body shaking with her grief, "We can't leave them there... but we very well can't go get them back... if we leave without clearance there's the possibility of being declared missing,"

Naruto shook his head fervently, "Granny Tsunade would never declare us missing! She can't!"

Sakura smiled, "And how are we going to get to Kumogakure? Naruto... this is just too much.. even for us..."

Naruto shook his head, "No! I'm not going to give up like this!" he yelled, stomping away.

Sakura hung her head, once again feeling useless and left behind. "Good luck Naruto.." she muttered.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Danzou roared, "WE WILL NOT EXPEND VALUABLE ANBU JUST SO YOU CAN GET TWO BACK!"

"Sir, considering the rank of the first and the standing in the Hyuuga of the second, it seems that it would be best to retrieve them sir,"

"WE WILL NOT SEND OUR MEN ON SOME USELESS ESCAPADE!" Danzou roared again, "IF THEY ARE DEAD, THEY ARE DEAD, AND WASTING MORE OF OUR MEN WILL NOT CHANGE THAT!"

"Danzou-sama seems very defensive today sir," Mika said quietly, "Why would that be?"

Danzou turned a deeper hue of violet, his face turning the shade of a beet, not with embarrassment, but with anger, "What are you implying Shirotora?" he said softly, "Are you trying to accuse me of purposefully abandoning members of ANBU? How can you justify your claim?"

Mika stood tall, her eyes betraying no emotion to the enraged commander, "Sir, I simply ask you to lend me a few men, even taken from his own squad if necessary, I am sure that they will go if simply asked,"

A Ne captain that had been listening quietly chose that time to step in, "So, that makes these two ANBU better than any of the rest of us? We all know the risks, we take them every time we dawn the mask, you need to realize that you cannot save every single person,"

Mika frowned, "Ne Captain, you speak out of your station. I am an Elite, you have no authority to openly contradict me as such... hold your tongue,"

Danzou shook his head, disregarding the blatant breach in authority, "This is my decision and it will stand, no recovery party will be sent. Is that understood Shirotora?"

Mika took a deep breath, trying to cool her temper, "Yes sir Danzou-sama," she said. Danzou motioned for her to leave and she saluted crisply, turned on her heel and walking through the doors. As soon as she was outside of the ANBU dispatch headquarters she sighed and cupped her face in her hands, "I'm trying Lee," she muttered.

---

"Why are you crying?" the little girl said quietly.

"Because they all hate me! I have never even done anything to them!" Lee sobbed. "What should I do? What CAN I do? I really don't know!"

Mika frowned, "Why don't you just beat them away from you? You have the ability..."

Lee shook his head, "I could not do that... that is unacceptable.."

Mika sighed, "Well then run away, you have to choose between one or the other, there isn't that much middle ground..."

Lee sniffed, his tears drying silently, "There is always middle ground," he said confidently, "There is the path of perseverance... no matter what happens..."

"You really are just a deluded kid aren't you?" Mika said, "Persevering can only make you as strong as the people who try to hurt you, never beyond that,"

Lee shook his head, "I.."

"Hey! It's that kid again!" a voice called, "He's over there!"

Lee jumped up, desperately trying to get away, the kids surrounding him quickly. "Please leave me alone.." he said quietly, "I have done nothing to warrant this..."

"Well, you're somewhere where you're unwanted," the lead kid said, "And from what I can see, you just making us all look stupid in class but not being able to use jutsu makes us all look a little hopeless... so maybe we're taking our retribution here, eh, hot-blooded dropout?" the small child lashed out, striking Lee on the face, Lee simply fell into a defensive form, taking all of the blows as best he could. The kids eventually tired of the game and walked away, each of them boasting loudly of what they had done to the dropout.

Lee stood up silently from where he had fell, clutching his arm, he smiled weakly at Mika who still stood there, stunned, "See, now no one is hurt, and the problem is solved,"

"You're hurt," Mika said, "And they'll just come back later," the small girl shook her head, "You just made yourself an easy target, why didn't you fight back,"

Lee smiled, "For the common good, I heal faster than they do most likely, so it will do me less damage... not only that I can dampen their attack..."

Mika smiled again, "I don't understand you at all... but I like you... want to be friends?"

Lee stopped his eyes turning questioningly at the girl, "Friends?" he said, "You would... like to be friends with me?"

Mika smiled, "Of course, that's why I asked!"

---

Mika took a deep breath, she would persevere, just like Lee had shown her in the Academy. She clenched her hands into fists and smirked, she took off down the road to the Hirugohan's diner, one of the two diners open to active ANBU. She would get them back, and Danzou be damned. She skidded into the restaurant and looked around quickly, her eyes landing on a table in the far back. She ran over to it, her blue eyes landing on the squad members assembled there, she nodded to them and sat down in the empty chair, leaning forward to avoid being overheard by the other ANBU in the building, "I have a plan..." she whispered.

Tenten blinked, her food immediately forgotten, "What?" she said, hope returning to her dead eyes, "What?" she said again.

Mika looked around to make sure none of the other ANBU had overheard and nodded at Shizune, "Old squad member?" she asked.

Shizune nodded, "Yeah, I was just recently replaced,"

Mika nodded back, "Okay, that's good..." Mika reached back, pulling a small strip of metal away from the hilt to reveal a small compartment.

Tenten's eyes widened at the folded piece of paper that Mika drew, "A map?" she said,

Mika nodded, pointing to a star drawn on it, "This is the main city of Kumogakure, it's garrison strength is roughly one thousand combat trained ninja on half alert and about two hundred on full alert status, it's weaknesses are inherent within two zero five meters within it's first defensive buffer, the garrison will most likely..."

Kiba blinked in surprise, "Wait.. what?" he said, he wasn't used to such a large amount of information at once and was assimilating it badly, "What does this have to do with anything?"

Tenten looked up, her eyes already cataloging each detail and committing it to memory, "Kiba, quiet," she said, looking up and surveying the area around them, it was perfect to not be overheard in, the boisterous racket caused by the other ANBU loud enough to drown out any sound. "So what were you saying Mika-chan?" she said again.

Mika nodded, "The garrison will most likely deploy about twenty to thirty minutes after the full alert has been raised, we'll need to move in before then and secure the targets, primary mission objective being the extraction of the targets to our rally point,"

Temari blinked too, "Isn't this a little fast?" she asked, "You haven't done any research on it at all! How would you know all of this?"

Mika just shook her head, "It would be a massive waste of my time to tell you everything you didn't know. Let's just say that we have a very reliable source in the Raikage's ranks,"

"But how do you know all of that?" Kiba demanded, "It doesn't say that anywhere on the map!"

Mika sighed again, her irritation obvious, "Kiba-san, Temari-san, I AM an ANBU Elite, I know what I'm doing, please, go along with it," she gestured to the map, "The reason I am able to quote all this from memory is that all ranks at or above ANBU Captain are required to memorize vital information about certain enemy garrisons and strongholds, now can we please continue?" she looked at both of the ANBU and quickly began again, "We will need to move as fast as humanly possible, no matter how many men we have, if the enemy begins to engage in guerrilla movements in their own country we're going to be in a difficult situation, we will need to either hit Konoha's border again as fast as we can, or failing that, flee into the Wind Country where the Kazekage will most likely harbor us until we can return to Konoha,"

Tenten nodded, "Mika-chan, how many men do we have lined up for this operation?"

Mika grinned and swept her hand around the table, "You're looking at them... all of them..."

Tenten sighed and sank deeper into her chair, "Mika-chan... this mission isn't authorized is it?"

Mika smiled at her cheerfully, "Nope,"

Kiba's mouth dropped open, his eyes staring at her unbelievingly, "An unauthorized mission?" he said, "But we can't... I mean... what if we're declared missing? We could end up getting the hunter-nins, or worse, even some of our own brother and sister ANBU.."

Mika shrugged, "It's the chance you take when you take an unauthorized mission, I, for one, feel this is completely and utterly worth it, and I'm willing to be captured or killed in that pursuit, if you don't, then leave, if we... WHEN we rescue Lee-san and Hinata-san, we'll tell him you stayed behind to make sure that Konoha wasn't underpowered in our absence, no one will think any less of you,"

Kiba smiled, "Well you didn't have to say any of that... I was in from the moment when you first started talking,"

Temari shrugged, trying to keep the joy that she felt from spilling out, her eyes growing more hopeful by the moment, "Well if you're going to travel through Suna, than I'll need to come along right?"

Mika smiled, "Then it's decided, we're all going to take part in this," she smiled, "This is what we're gonna need to do," Mika quickly and efficiently laid down a plan, her blue eyes momentarily hardening, the lively orbs becoming as blue steel, Kiba frowned and looked away, he wondered if that was how they all looked behind the masks, like machines. "You have your jobs," Mika said, "Dismissed," Eagle Squad stood, each member purposefully setting out in a different direction.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakura sighed, her legs dangling down as she sat on the bridge. She looked into the clear blue water, looking into it like it held some secret to the resolution of the situation. She smiled softly and picked a small flower that was near the edge of the bridge, solemnly staring down at it in her hand. She sighed, "They'll come back..," she said, plucking one of the petals on the flower and solemnly dropping it into the water, "They won't." she said, gritting her teeth, plucking another petal and dropping it into the water, "They'll come back..." she said again, picking another petal. Sakura heard a sound behind her and quickly turned to see an extremely disgruntled looking Naruto, "Naruto... so... no luck?"

Naruto sighed exasperatedly, "Nothing I said could convince her..." he plopped down next to her and sighed again, "She said they're probably dead... and that there was nothing to do for them... I even volunteered to go alone... she didn't buy it..." he shifted uneasily. He felt impotent, so unable to help his friends, "So any ideas Sakura-chan?"

Sakura shook her head, "I've been thinking all day and honestly I haven't thought up a thing..." she looked into the water, tears brimming in her eyes, "I came here... because I thought that maybe I would think of something... I... I just hoped it would give me some idea," she looked up at him wistfully, "The supposedly smartest kid in our class can't even think anymore... isn't she pathetic?" Sakura shook silently, her tears still staining her lap.

Naruto looked around at the bridge but couldn't see anything special about it, "So what's so important about this bridge Sakura-chan?" he said, trying to steer the conversation away from her self-recriminations.

Sakura smiled faintly again, looking around, "This is where I first really acknowledged Lee... it was when he was injured... by Gaara.. I brought him flowers.." she looked down at the flower in her hand, three petals still stuck onto it menacingly. She frowned and threw the flower into the water, her conscience bothering her. _'Even when I thought of Lee-san... I only thought of him after Sasuke... he didn't deserve it... Lee-san didn't deserve to be treated like I did...'_ she thought _'You did so much for me Lee-san.. and I never appreciated you for it... I swear I'll change... please? Just one more chance' _, she turned Naruto who was sitting next to her, her eyes resolute, "Naruto..." she said, "Can you make me another promise?"

Naruto blinked but quickly regained his composure, "Of course Sakura-chan," he said.

"Forget about Sasuke,"

Naruto blinked, his mind hearing the words but not registering them, "Forget about Sasuke?"

Sakura smiled sadly, "He's just not going to come back... I won't hold you to that promise anymore..." she quickly wiped away a teardrop that was coming threateningly close to falling, "But I want you to make me another promise instead..." Naruto nodded and Sakura took a deep breath, "Please Naruto... I want you to bring him back.. bring back Lee-san... that is all I want.."

Naruto smiled, once again getting in the good-guy pose that he had used before to seal his promise with Sakura several years ago. "It's the promise of a lifetime then," he said, "I'll get him back,"

Sakura smiled back, "Thanks Naruto..."

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Neji shook his head, slipping on his usual robes, "I still can't believe you talked me into this," he muttered.

"Well he's OUR teammate and YOUR best friend, not only that she's your cousin," Tenten said, "You'd kill us if we left you out,"

Neji smiled, "Well maybe I would have,"

Tenten smiled back, "C'mon Neji, get your stuff together, we leave at 0130,"

Neji shook his head, "Leaving Konoha on an unauthorized mission into enemy soil with hostile intent? It sounds like we're trying to start a war.."

"They took Lee and Hinata from us. We're just trying to get them back,"

Neji locked eyes with her for a second, "But what if they're not alive," he said.

Tenten drew in a sharp breath and looked away, "They will be," she said uncertainly, "Or I will personally kill each and every Cloud nin I see there,"

Neji shook his head, picking up his small rucksack, "No," Tenten stared at him in confusion and Neji smiled, "If they've killed them, then they are MINE," Tenten looked at the expression on Neji's face and they both burst into laughter. Mission Complete.

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Shizune nervously fiddled with her sleeves as a guard turned toward her. "Hey!" the guard said, "Shizune-san, how are you this fine day?"

Shizune nodded, trying to control her breathing as to not appear suspicious, "I'm great!" she said, smiling sweetly. The guard nodded enthusiastically and began to talk to her about events around the village, she slowly and carefully pulled out a senbon with a tranquilizing solution on it and dropped it on the ground. The guard didn't notice the small tinkling sound as the senbon hit the floor and continued to talk, Shizune stepped forward, using her chakra to stick the senbon to the bottom of her sandal. She nodded, pretending to be listening to the guard's ramblings when she jerked her foot a minuscule amount forward, pricking the guard's uncovered toe with the senbon. The guard fell to the ground, sleeping peacefully. She quietly lifted the guard's body and dragged it into the room with her. The Hokage's archive was enormous, a gigantic circular room filled with all sorts of invaluable maps, books and tomes. Shizune was looking for something specific however, ignoring the other books she selected a small map, a drawing of the internals of the entirety of Kumogakure, she quickly placed another piece of paper over it and pulsed her chakra into it, the chakra reacting with the paper and copying the map perfectly. She folded it up and slipped it into the lining of her kunai holster, walking back outside again with the guard. She pulled out an antidote and quickly treated him, waking him up, "Slow down," she said as the guard tried to stand up, "You fainted," Shizune almost smiled.

The guard smiled weakly, "I did?"

Shizune nodded, "You really worried me, you just fell down. Maybe you should take the rest of the day off?"

The guard shook his head, "I'll be relieved in a few minutes, I'll be okay for that long... thanks Shizune-san.."

Shizune smiled, "Would you mind if I stayed with you until then to make sure you'll be okay?"

The guard smiled back, "No, I'm okay Shizune-san, please, don't worry about me,"

Shizune nodded, "Okay, if you're sure," she said, "Keep up the good work," the guard thanked her and she left, the map still in her kunai holster. She smiled. Mission Complete.

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Temari pushed aside the guard that was standing in her way, "Mrs. Nara! You cannot do that!" the guard yelled.

Temari just scoffed and charged in, her husband looking up questioningly as the door banged open, "Shikamaru, we have to talk," she said.

"Ma'am," the guard said, rushing forward, Temari just shut the door deftly, slamming the guard in the face with it and sending him rolling backward, she then locked it, her eyes glaring threateningly at the commander who was sitting at the desk.

Shikamaru sighed, "Temari-chan... I guess from the way you called me Shikamaru instead of Shiki-kun, you either want something, or you're pissed off at me..."

"You think?" Temari said, "Why did you order people to replace Lee and Hinata?"

"Regulations,"

"Shiki-kun.." Temari said gently, "Don't act like this," She knew Shikamaru had taken the death of his teammates badly, it was obvious, his face had become drawn and his disposition darkened. "I want you to come with us... please help us get them back..."

Shikamaru shook his head, "Temari-chan," he said softly, "They're gone... and there isn't anything you can do to change it... you have to accept it,"

Temari shook her head, "If they're dead then we'll go get the bodies and bring them back to Konoha anyway, they deserve better than to be humiliated like that... remember the three from Squad Viper that were caught last year? Do you want them to end up like that?"

Shikamaru looked away, the Hidden Sound had captured three ANBU members from Squad Viper the previous year, they had found the bodies dumped five hundred meters from Konoha, mangled beyond identification, the full details hadn't even been disclosed because of the grisly shape the bodies had been in, "Please don't go Temari-chan..." Shikamaru said softly. Temari blinked in surprise, Shikamaru had said it so softly and sadly, like a small child who didn't want to be separated from his mother, "Please... I don't want to lose you too..." he glanced down, breathing shallowly.

Temari shook her head, "I won't die Shiki-kun..." she said, "And no one will either... so please Shiki-kun... come with us?"

"No.." Shikamaru said, "I.. I'm not going..."

Temari sighed, but she could see that asking again wouldn't be the best thing to do, Shikamaru wasn't in his best mindset and needed some time to think, dropping him immediately into a mission that would need pinpoint precision would be worse for everyone. "Okay Shiki-kun.." she said softly, "Then please at least don't tell anyone that we're gone okay? Can you do that for us?"

Shikamaru nodded silently, "I.. I will," he stood up, walking around the desk and ignoring the rather copious amount of paperwork he knocked to the ground, "P.. Please be safe.." he said softly, "Come back to me.."

Temari kissed him softly, "I'll be just fine," she said, "Just keep the hunter-nins away from us," Shikamaru nodded tearfully and Temari glanced at a clock on the wall, their rally time was three hours away, she ignored the guard's pounding on the door and pulled up a chair to his desk, sitting down, "I'll stay with you for just a while longer, okay Shiki-kun?"

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Kiba muttered to himself softly as he hefted the eight packs of food and supplies, he was always stuck with the annoying missions, "Alright, I'll be going now," he said, nodding to the logistics chief who was still glaring at him suspiciously. Mission Complete. He walked out of the supply depot and almost ran straight into Naruto. He groaned in annoyance, this wasn't something he needed at the moment, he sighed and walked around him, hurrying to the rally point.

"Hey Kiba!" Naruto yelled, Kiba grimaced and stopped, "Where are you going with all of that? You gonna eat it all by yourself dog boy?" Kiba rolled his eyes and kept walking, not even acknowledging the blond ninja. "Hey! Hey!" Naruto yelled, "What's up? Why won't you even talk to me?"

Kiba stopped again, sighing and dropping the eight rucksacks on the ground, "Would you shut up?" he growled, "I have MUCH more important things to do right now than talk to you,"

Naruto blinked in confusion, "Whattaya mean?" he said, he frowned as it suddenly snapped into place, the reason he hadn't seen the rest of the squad, the reason Kiba was walking around with eight survival packs, why Kiba wouldn't even take time out of his duties to talk to him. He smiled, "When are we going?" he said with a grin.

Kiba shook his head, "WE aren't going anywhere," he said, "YOU are staying here,"

Naruto frowned, "But I want to help get Hinata-chan and Fuzzy-brows back just as much as you do!"

Kiba growled quietly, "Well you may want to get Hinata-chan and the CAPTAIN back as much as we do, but you're not, you're too much of a security risk,"

"I fight just as well as you do and you know it!" Naruto yelled, "Let me help get them back!"

Kiba glanced around, people were starting to stare at them, Naruto was drawing too much attention toward them, "Shut up you idiot," Kiba growled, "You're drawing attention,"

Naruto looked around and indeed there were interested ANBU that had come for supplies staring at him, Naruto turned back to Kiba but the other nin was already gone. "Hey!" he yelled, running after him.

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Lee coughed violently, blood spraying on the ground in a stream, "Your mission?" the interrogator said again, his cold eyes boring into that of the ANBU Captain, "What was it?"

Lee struggled back up, standing at stiff attention and holding his head up high, "ANBU Captain Rock Lee, Squad Fifteen, Designation: Eagle," he yelled, "To disclose information pertaining to the mission is a serious violation of the ANBU's regulation 23-10, to do so is to betray the village of Konohagakure,"

The interrogator sighed, he had expected either the girl or him to break quickly, possibly even immediately, but now after about six hours straight by four different interrogators they still had not, he formed the seals again, forcing the chakra into a ball of electricity again, "Your mission?" he said again. The captain repeated the mantra again and the interrogator sighed, slamming the ball of electricity into the Captain's neck.

Lee grunted in pain, it felt like there was fire going down his neck, and he fell backwards twitching. He gasped in the sweet sweet air and coughed again, the tears running down his face, he quickly blinked them away and gritted his teeth, standing back up defiantly. He did not scream, he would not give them that satisfaction. "ANBU Captain Rock Lee," he said once again, "Squad Fifteen, Designation: Eagle... to disclose information pertaining to the mission is a serious violation of.." Lee gasped in pain again as he was struck repeatedly in the face with some blunt object. He fell backwards and lay on the ground, breathing shallowly and struggling to get up again. He took in a deep breath, calming his aching body slightly, and stood back up, the chains holding his arms down clanking loudly, "ANBU regulation 23-10, to do so is to betray the village of Konohagakure,"

The interrogator sighed in irritation and smiled, "Maybe you won't tell me because you're not really afraid of me..." he said, "Maybe I should show you what I can do?" Lee glared at him but didn't say anything.

Hinata looked away, tears falling more and more quickly from her eyes as the pained groans of her captain got louder and louder. She cried softly into her arms as she heard a sudden loud scream, she trembled, unsure of whether he was still alive or not, hoping that he would be okay. Suddenly the door of the cell she had been sitting it was opened and Lee was thrown in with her, his limp body thudding heavily against the wall. "Lee-san..." she said softly, going up to him and shaking him.

Lee tried to stop shaking, and he gasped, trying to soothe the burning in his lungs. "I... I am fine Hinata-chan.." he gasped. Hinata didn't look convinced, for good reason too, he wasn't okay, he felt like his whole body was on fire, everything hurt and he could barely breathe. He tried to ignore his pain and flipped over, his bound hands reaching behind him and wrenching out the kunai that was still stuck in there. He grimaced and flipped it over, smiling at the inscription on the blade. "Hope," he said smiling, "Thanks Sai," he broke the handle of the kunai cleanly in half and gratefully retrieved the small medical supplies that had been hidden in the hilt.

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"I'm certain this alliance will benefit both of our countries Raikage-dono," Orochimaru said.

"I'm sure it will as well Orochimaru-dono," the Raikage said, "I am looking forward to when we combine our forces,"

Orochimaru gave a formal bow and left silently, his personal aide by his side. "Orochimaru-sama.." Kabuto said softly, "Was it the best idea to give the Raikage something of such power?"

Orochimaru grinned snakishly, his eyes flashing red briefly, "Honestly Kabuto... it doesn't matter what I give him... because in the end, the Tears are all that matter... and we have three..."

Kabuto looked stunned but pressed on anyway, "But surely not even the Tears are that powerful?"

Orochimaru chuckled, "You have no idea Kabuto.." he said.  
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Notes: Yes everyone I'm still alive. Sorry for the incredibly incredibly long wait, I'll try to keep it from happening again! I'm so sorry! Writer's blick is really horrible... anyway... I further apologise but updates after this one are going to be a little slow...-er... because I have to go back to school and have to find a balance. Sorry again, but I hope you like the chapter!

**PLEASE REVIEW! IT KEEPS WRITERS WRITING!**  
Seriously, taking a few seconds to lodge a review means so much for the writer.

**Review Responses: **

SapphireWhiteTigress: Her words bouy me up when I doubt myself and no matter how much I really just can't express my appreciation for her enough. I would have canceled this at least 60 times by this point had she not been there for me. I just don't know how I can thank her! THANK YOU TENNYO! -cries-

**Quietchick:** XP, lol, Hinata and Lee are my two favorite characters too! And here's the next chapter that proves that in fact, they are not dead! Hope you like the chapter!

**Wah IMA Pirate: **Thank you so much for the review! I'm very happy that you would be so kind! I will do my best to keep up or even improve my work and reviews definitely help me in that, so thank you!

**Original-Monkey-Girl:** Thanks for the review! Are the colors white and red of some importance? -winks- you know? They just may be...

**K.C: **Thanks a lot! I really appreciate everything you've said about my fic. I've really tried my best to make all of the characters true to form and I hope I've done that to some degree. I'm glad you liked my OC, I really like her too, she's kinda the middle ground. Thanks again for the review!

**Gman:** See, there is an underlying reason for that, it doesn't go as far as a simple Henge... remember to get into the gates, or out for that matter, you need I.D and other 'things' that will be discussed later. Please don't tell me that a fact I have already taken into contention is wrong.. it's kinda annoying...

I apologise heartfeltly, I have absolutely no artistic abilites AT ALL. But if you would really want one then maybe I can ask Edward Sushi and possibly see if there is something to be done with that. Thanks for the review!

**Funky Platypus: **-cries- I love Gai too! I'm sorry I had to kill him but it was going to become important later and... -stops before he spills any spoilers- I'm happy that you found the characters still matched up with their personalities, it was what I was going for! Thanks for the review! Enjoy!

**the dude lebowski: **And you sir, have made my week as well. I'm so happy that I was able to brighten up your weekend even just a tiny bit and it makes writing this really worthwhile! Thank so much!

**mangocloud: **Not at all! It made me happy! Thank you!

**'.Serene.Panda.': **Thank you for the review. I have to say that I appreciate your review and I'd like to say that I really appreciate the fact that you would take the time to do so. Thanks!

**Samber: **I'm glad you liked it! heheh I'm glad to stop typing Sasuke-obsessive Sakura now, it was started to get on my nerves. I hope you like this chapter as well!

**Mrs. Rock Lee**: Yes, in my opinion as well, Sasuke is, and always shall be, a traitor, not only that I just don't like his attitude.. Thanks for the review and yes the LeeSaku pairing will be gradual, so it may take a while...

**A heartfelt thanks to everyone who reviewed and a heartfelt plea to everyone else to please review!**

* * *


	10. Chapter Nine: Break and Enter

Eagle One  
Chapter Nine: Break and Enter

Disclaimer: Again?  
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Mika held up her hand, fist up, the signal to stop, the coordinated team freezing in their tracks, she opened her fist and pointed left with three fingers and right with three more and the group silently divided up. Mika approached Neji, commander of the other detachment, "Okay..." she whispered, "We need to maintain full noise and light discipline, we're only five hundred meters from Kumogakure's first wall. Operation will begin at 0230, your detachment is to hit the left side,"

Neji nodded, "Yes ma'am," he said, "And our mission is to liberate the targets?"

"Yes," Mika said, "Remember the plan and stick to it. You have about fifteen minutes to accomplish your objective and withdraw,"

"Mika-chan," Tenten whispered, "What if we exceed our planned time?"

Mika gritted her teeth, "Then you should move on singularly to the rally point if your mission time exceeds twenty plus minutes, my detachment will provide a distraction until plus thirty to plus fifty minutes so you can get away,"

"Remember, blue means we're go, red means we've stalled," Tenten said, looking around to the other members of the squad, receiving quick nods in return.

Naruto grinned, "Let's do this," he said.

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Lee pried up the loose rock in the side of the cell, opening a small hole in the wall, the cold air outside blowing in, "Hey Sai..." he said quietly, "Any word from the Hokage on our status?"

The person on the other side was silent, his hands trembling slightly as he stood with a pained expression on his face, "I'm sorry..." he whispered, sliding a kunai into the hole. Lee blinked in surprise and caught the kunai before it fell onto the ground, "I'm so sorry..." the spy said again, "I tried to convince them... please... believe me..." the spy felt new emotion swell up in him, emotions that until a few years ago he had been trained not to feel, "If it's of any consolation.. they made it back safely..."

Hinata perked up at that, her face approaching the hole, "N.. Naruto-k.. kun is safe?" she asked urgently.

"Both of them reached Konoha with no real injuries..." the spy paused and shoved his hand as far as he could into the hole, "You... you did well..."

Lee smiled painfully, he knew what had happened, there was a chance of it all along. He grabbed his friend's hand and squeezed tightly, "Keep up your great work," he said, "Konoha needs your skills vitally, don't get caught..."

Hinata glanced in surprise at the squad leader and then shook the spy's hand too, "Goodbye Sai.." she said softly.

Sai swallowed loudly, his black eyes darting downward, "Goodbye..." he said, he quickly pulled his hand out of the hole and turned, walking away quickly, trying to keep the tears from flowing down his face but failing.

Lee grasped the kunai and stared at the kanji emblazoned on it. Hinata stared at it as well, the meaning of it slowly sinking in. The kanji insignia was 'death'.

"L.. L.. Lee-san.." Hinata said softly, apparently frightened, "D.. Don't those u.. usually say... 'hope'?" Lee sighed, breaking the kunai in half again and retrieving the two pills that tumbled out, Hinata's eyes widened, the usual medical supplies were nowhere to be seen. "L.. Lee-san?"

Lee stared at the pills in his hand sadly, his mind set on what he had to do, "Hinata-chan..." he said, "When any special forces branch of Konoha has members that are captured... they are still supplied with medical supplies in whichever manner is the most viable... until they are considered a threat to Konoha's security," he took another deep breath and Hinata's eyes visibly widened, "The captives are at first given the 'hope' kunai, to keep up their strength in case of rescue... then... if no rescue is planned on being sent... they get the 'death' kunai..." he gestured toward the small pills in his hand, "In order to eliminate the risk to Konoha... it is... our duty to remove the threat..."

Hinata's hand shot up to her mouth in a shocked gesture, "N.. No.." she said, "H.. How can they a.. ask us to d.. do that?"

Lee shook his head sadly, "If they manage to get us to talk then we will have much more blood on our hands than our own..."

Hinata looked down, knowing full well that his words were true, she silently accepted her fate, the tears running down her face, "Yes sir.." she said softly, "O.. Our lives for K.. Konoha..."

Lee shook his head, "Do not call me sir Hinata-chan.. not now.." he smiled, "We die as friends..."

Hinata nodded, "O.. Okay Lee-san.." she said. She solemnly took a pill out of Lee's trembling hand, her hand closing around it tightly.

Lee swallowed loudly, his hands trembling but his mind completely set, "Shall I go first?" he said softly. Hinata looked at him sadly and nodded her head. Lee took a deep breath, positioning his hand over his mouth solemnly, closing his eyes before tipping the pill in.

---

"Razor Three!" Razor Two yelled, "Razor One says we have to clear this entire building! Get to it, you're on point!"

"Sir!" Razor Three yelled, running down the hallway, his squad at his back, "Sir! Door ahead! Orders?"

"Button hook entry!" Razor One ordered, "Razor Three! You're up! Hit that hard!"

"Sir!" Razor Three yelled, he burst forward, spinning quickly and slamming into the door, knocking it off its hinges, "Dainammiku Entori!" he yelled, launching into the room and kicking the defending ninja inside against the walls.

Razor Two drew his chakra into his body and slammed a fist into the nearest enemy and accidentally slamming him into Razor Three, "Hey watch out rookie," Razor Two snarled, "You might be a rookie but if you can't help at least stay out of the way!"

Razor Three shrugged off the body of the enemy ninja, "Yes sir.." he said meekly.

"Hey Razor Two! Calm down with the kid, it's only his first year!" Razor Five yelled from the back of the squad.

"Shut up Five," Razor Two growled, "Stupid rookies always trying to upstage their betters,"

"All of you, shut up!" Razor One snapped, the squad quit the squabbling immediately but the squad members were still glaring at each other angrily. "You know the mission, no one gets out..."

"Yes sir!" Razor Four said, casually killing one gasping enemy nin with a kunai. The squad spread out among the halls, killing each enemy ninja they found in the garrison, the death cries of brave men echoing in the air.

Razor One frowned and looked down, his foot grazing something that felt different from the rest of the floor. He stopped and tapped his foot on it, the portion of the ground making a hollow thump, "Well what do we have here?" he muttered. He reached down and forced open the trapdoor, frowning at the occupants of the small room, the elderly and infants huddled together, shying away from the blood covered Captain.

"Don't come any closer!" a genin squeaked as he brandished a kunai, "Leave us alone!"

Razor One smiled behind his mask menacingly, "Or you'll do what little boy?" he said, stepping forward and crushing two of the traps that the genin has set, "If you can threaten me like that, you must have something good waiting right?"

"Stay away you monsters!" An elderly woman yelled, "We've done nothing to you!"

Razor One nodded, acting as if he cared about that at all. "But you're the families of our enemies... thus... our enemies as well," he smiled again, the menace pouring from his eyes. He slowly drew out his katana and stalked forward. Genin Yasou Hideki was no fool. He knew he would die... he knew he had no chance against a ninja possibly infinitely more powerful than he was... but he also knew he had to try. He ran forward, throwing several kunai at the ANBU Captain. The Captain simply reached up, snatching each individual kunai out of the air before it came anywhere near his body. "Is that all little baby ninja?" he said amusedly, "What was it that you were trying to accomplish with that pathetic display?"

"G.. Go away," the genin stammered, "L.. Leave us alone..."

The ANBU Captain shook his head, speeding forward and slamming the genin to the ground. The genin coughed, blood dribbling from his mouth. "You should have run," Razor One said, grinning wickedly, "Then at least you would have survived..."

"Never..." the genin said weakly as he formed several seals. _'I'll make you proud, dad...'_ he thought, _'I'll use that jutsu... to buy them a little time...'_ the genin took a deep breath and forced his chakra into the seals. The genin reached out and grabbed the ANBU Captain's arm tightly, "ENJOU HIDETOKERU NO JUTSU!" he yelled, the chakra flowing through his body and overloading each one of his inner coils. The ANBU Captain's eyes widened, he had never expected something of the caliber. Razor One tried to move away but found his arm still held in the vice-like grip of the genin, "Now.." the genin gasped, "It's over..." the genin's eyes flashed triumphantly for a second before they turned red, the blood vessels in his eyes bursting. Razor One couldn't move, he tried canceling his chakra flow but found that nothing would grant him reprieve, his suit started to smolder, the black cloth erupting into flame. Yasou grimaced painfully as he drew his final breath, _'Did I do good dad?'_ he thought, _'I protected them just like you wanted... I... did well... right?' _

Razor Two and Three thundered down the steps just in time to see both ninja bursting into pillars of blue fire, the screams of the squad leader echoing around the room. "Razor One!" Razor Two and Three yelled. Razor Two paused, a small smile flitting across his face as he realized that he was now in command. "Kill the vermin," he spat venomously, pointing toward the huddled and terrified civilians.

Razor Three stiffened, his dark eyes clouding with indecision, "S.. Sir..." he stammered, "T.. They are innocent civilians..."

Razor Two growled and walked forward, slamming the rookie against the wall, "I must have not heard you right, rook..." he said menacingly, "When I order you to do something... you do it... without question,"

"Sir! We cannot do this!" Razor Three yelled, "They have done nothing w.."

The sound of the strike echoed around the room, several small children huddling closer from the fierce sound. Razor Two drew his hand back, "You must not understand the situation.." he spat as he pointed at the charred remains of the squad leader. "That used to be your squad leader, THEY killed him, you must avenge him,"

"No sir!" Razor Three yelled, "They are not our enemies!"

"YOU INSUBORDINATE ROOKIE!" Razor Two yelled, "FOLLOW MY ORDERS RIGHT NOW!"

"NO SIR!"

Razor Two growled in annoyance, pushing the resolute ANBU out of the way, "Then stay out of my way while I do it..." he said, slipping a kunai from its sheath.

---

"I always hoped I could repent for that day before I died.." Lee whispered quietly. He took a breath shakily and began to swallow.

Hinata's white eyes trembled as she also held the pill up to her mouth, her life flashing before her.

---

Hinata gasped as she hit the floor, her breath coming in tortured gasps from her injured lungs. "Otousan.. I... I'm sorry... I... I can't.."

"Get up Hinata..." Hiashi said threateningly, "Get up and fight your sister..."

"I can't!" Hinata gasped, "Please Otousan! Don't make me fight her!"

"Are you scared Onee-chan?" Hanabi said quietly, her pale eyes glaring at her sister triumphantly, "Are you scared because you know I am better?"

Hinata took a deep breath and stood up again, her Byakugan staring down her younger sister's. Hinata shuddered and drew into her form, advancing slowly, "Hinata! You are an ANBU now, why do you continue to lose to your younger sister who is only a Chunin? Have you no shame?" Hiashi demanded, "You will disgrace our house again!"

Hanabi didn't even wait for her father to finish his lecture. She propelled herself forward, her short legs acting like pistons and bringing her within striking distance of her sister. "Hakke Kusho!" she yelled, expelling a small wave of chakra. Hinata dodged it easily but allowed the side of the attack to clip her side. She drew her palm back and drove it into her sister's unprotected chest, Hanabi's eyes widened as she felt the pressure but no killing rush of chakra, no pain. "You can't do it can you?" she said softly, "You're not strong enough..."

Hinata trembled, her hand still pressed softly against Hanabi's chest. She was about to surge a small amount of chakra into her palm when she suddenly saw her mother's gentle face where Hanabi's had been only moments ago. "Okasan?" Hinata said softly. "Okasan?" she drew her hand back, her eyes threatening to spill tears. Hanabi smiled, she had always known that her sister couldn't hurt her, she was just too gentle. Hinata gasped as the palm struck her on the stomach, the chakra flowing into her body and striking several vital organs. Hanabi smiled and poured the chakra in less quickly, letting Hinata feel each and every bit of the chakra she was pumping into her inner coils. Hinata fell to her hands and knees, her chest on fire, and her eyes blurry. The older girl blearily glanced upward just in time to see another blow falling toward her and roll out of the way, her upper body feeling useless.

"Stop this nonsense and finish her Hanabi!" Hiashi yelled, "We must begin your studies,"

Hinata grimaced, her sad eyes refocusing on her younger sister. She already knew what was going to happen to Hanabi if she didn't obey their father's orders immediately. "Do it Hanabi-chan..." she said quietly so their father could not overhear, "Quickly..."

Hanabi frowned, "What are you talking about Onee-chan?"

"Quickly, make the blow," Hinata whispered, "Do it.."

"Do you think I need your charity?" Hanabi yelled, "I am superior to you! I don't need you to act all sisterly toward me!"

Hinata drew her hands up as she saw her father glare in her direction. She dropped low, blocking several attacks coming toward her already aching chest and jumped up and around Hanabi, using the smaller girl to hide her motions from her father. Hanabi growled in annoyance and lunged forward, sending a chakra-infused palm whistling toward Hinata's head. Hinata smiled sadly and dropped her guard, taking the blow square to the jaw, and a quick burst of chakra later she slumped to the ground, unconscious.

---

She shivered again, her tears flowing ever faster, "I'm so sorry Okasan.. I couldn't keep my promise..." she said, "Please.. please forgive me... I.. I am just not strong enough after all..."

The door to the cell suddenly slammed open, two guards quickly jumping in, Lee's eyes widened and he immediately swallowed but the first guard caught him by the throat, taking away his ability to swallow. Hinata found herself struggling weakly with the other guard as well, but losing quickly and losing possession of her pill, it being wrenched from her hand. The guard quickly glanced at the pill in his companion's hand and dug it out of the ANBU Captain's mouth, he inspected the pill critically, his eyes amused, "Cyanide..." he said, "They were ordered to kill themselves..."

The larger guard grinned, kicking the smaller girl painfully in the ribs, "Well they're going to wish it worked by the time we get through with them..."

"Leader said we were to interrogate them for information, and not hurt them too greviously.." the other guard said.

"Well forget what leader said.. it suddenly no longer applies," the other guard said, drawing a kunai with a sick grin, "I'm going to have some fun..."

-------------------------------------------------

"Mission time minus thirty" Tenten said, "Repeat: Mission time minus thirty, preparing final entry protocol,"

"Affirmative," Neji said quietly, "We all know our entry protocol then?"

"Yeah, yeah, get on with it," Naruto said in a heavily annoyed voice, "Are we going to do this or not?"

"Shut up idiot," Neji said, "And that's 'Captain' or 'sir' to you while we're on field sortie..."

"I'll call you what I want since you're not even my captain!" Naruto whispered back.

"Stop it you two!" Tenten whispered urgently, "This is NOT what we need right now!"

"Idiot..." Neji said dryly, turning to Tenten, "Anyway... are the charges set up?"

"They're set up Neji.." she said confidently, "Two grams of cutting explosive on the hinges and a breaching explosive on ground level,"

"Good job Tenten," he said, "Hopefully that will do.."

Naruto suddenly stopped, his keen ears having heard a small crunching sound behind them. "Neji! I think there's someone here..."

"Don't be stupid," Neji snapped, "There isn't anyone within two hundred meters of.." he never got to finish his sentence, the kunai hovering near his neck making him freeze.

Naruto blinked in surprise as he suddenly had a kunai pressed tightly against his neck. An ANBU Captain strode out of the bushes in front of them solemnly, her mask smeared with black to camouflage it in the darkness of the night. "Temp Two, report," she said curtly.

"All three neutralized ma'am," he said, "They appear to be Konoha nin..."

The ANBU Captain sighed in annoyance as she walked up to Naruto, tapping his hitae-ate pointedly, "If you don't take this off, everyone knows where you come from... you could invariably start a war..."

"And who the hell are you?" Naruto demanded. He was getting angry, he couldn't see who this person was to tell him what he should or shouldn't do, "And who's side are you on?"

"You're here to rescue ANBU Captain Rock Lee, am I correct?" the captain said, "And ANBU level one Hyuuga Hinata?"

Tenten nodded, frowning in confusion, "But... how did you know?" she asked.

"Don't worry about that," she said, "Temp Three, Temp Four, Temp Five, release them, they're his squad,"

Neji took a deep breath as the kunai was pulled away from his throat, "So what are you guys doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on some extremely difficult mission?"

"We were," the Captain said, "But honestly, we find that getting back an old friend of ours is much more important," she smiled behind her mask, "I know you feel the same way, correct?"

"But..." Tenten said, "Why... here?"

"When Squad Tempest was still just a rookie squad, Lee was in it," the Captain said, "He fought with us, got injured with us, and cried with us. It's a bond we just can't break,"

"Squad Tempest?" Naruto echoed, "An ANBU squad?"

"Not just any ANBU squad idiot," Neji said with awe, "Squad Tempest,"

"And what exactly does that mean?" Naruto snapped, "I'm new remember?"

"Squad Tempest is currently ranked as Squad One," Tenten explained quickly, "That means that they're the best squad the ANBU has to offer right now..."

Naruto blinked, "No way!" he said, "What are you doing here?"

Tempest One sighed, "You don't really pay attention do you," she said, "If you don't know, I'm not going to waste my time explaining it,"

Tenten jumped over to Naruto, slamming her hand over his mouth before he could say anything, "Shut up," she said, "That Captain's the equivalent of a full ANBU Elite,"

"Anyway," Neji said, turning the conversation around, "Our mission time is.. Tenten?"

"Mission minus ten," she said softly.

"Are you going to go with us?" Neji asked, "Or would you prefer to execute your own strategy?"

Tempest One thought for a few seconds, frowning in concentration. "I assume you've rigged cutting charges on the door in a three hinge, one forward, intermediate route diametric angular set?"

"No ma'am," Tenten replied, "Three hinge, one forward, staggered pattern,"

"Tempest Six!" Tempest One yelled, "Front and Center!"

"Ma'am!" Tempest Six yelled, quickly running over to his Captain.

"Go check the rigging of the explosives on the door, change the configuration to three hinge, one forward, two reverse staggered, caissons at head level,"

"Shrapnel or fire?" Tempest Six asked.

"Both," she replied.

"Yes ma'am," Tempest Six yelled, stealthily disappearing into the surrounding undergrowth.

"Just watch us work.." Tempest One said, a hint of amusement in her voice, "Breaking and entering is our specialty after all..."

------------------------------------------------------------------

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'RE 'GONE'?" Tsunade yelled, "WHERE DID THEY GO?"

"We don't know Hokage-sama!" the guard chunin yelled, "We just have confirmation that they left several days ago with what looked like survival rations,"

"Damn..." Kakashi muttered, "They went after them after all..."

"Kakashi! You knew and didn't tell me?" Tsunade yelled.

"You were never an ANBU were you Hokage-sama?"

"No... never,"

Kakashi took a deep breath, "You can't even begin to imagine the bonds that they have between them. They could never just let two of their own die,"

"So that's where you think Sakura went? With them on some half-assed operation?" Tsunade asked, "There is no way even Sakura would be that stupid,"

"Maybe she's discovered something about herself these past few days.." Kakashi said softly.

"Either way, we can't risk war with the Raikage, we're already having problems with Iwagakure, we can't fight a war on three fronts, we just can't..." Tsunade took a deep breath, shakily releasing it, "I'm going to have to declare them missing..."

"I won't let you do that Tsunade-sama..." Shizune said quietly, "I can't"

"What?" Tsunade said incredulously, "You can't be serious Shizune!"

"I am.." the dark haired girl said, "I won't let you hurt my family,"

"Shizune! Who are your loyalties to? I trained you! We've been together for years!"

"Tsunade-sama.. I think of you like a mother... but right now that squad needs me to be their mother, and to do that I have to protect them against every and anyone... even you..."

"Bring me what I need to declare them missing right now!"

"No, I won't let you..."

"Shizune... a war... we're trying to avoid a war... we're too weakened to fight them... we have to sacrifice some so the majority may live..."

"I... I know Tsunade-sama..." Shizune's eyes suddenly flashed with defiance, "But I won't sacrifice them for that goal, I absolutely refuse.."

"Shizune, you don't understand the consequen..."

"NO!" Shizune yelled, "I UNDERSTAND THE CONSEQUENCES, I UNDERSTAND THAT I COULD CAUSE A WAR! I DON'T CARE! I WANT THEM BACK!"

"YOU IDIOT!" Tsunade yelled back, her face flushing red, "THIS CONCERNS THE ENTIRE VILLAGE! I WON'T LET KONOHA BE DESTROYED BECAUSE YOU WANT TO PROTECT SOME PEOPLE WHO MAY START A WAR!"

"Tsunade-sama.." Kakashi said, "What if they pull the operation off? What if it actually works? Could you live with knowing you just condemned those kids?"

"Kakashi-san," Shizune said, "Is there something you haven't told us?"

"I've called in assistance for them,"

Tsunade's head snapped up, her eyes surveying Kakashi with a tiny hint of annoyance, "And you never informed me of this, WHY?"

"I sent some of my ninken to fetch Squad Tempest,"

"TEMPEST?" Tsunade yelped, "But they're on a mission!"

Shizune nodded knowingly, "So they're going to help Lee since he used to be in their squad?"

"Exactly," Kakashi said, "They'll get them out,"

"But even Squad Tempest can't possibly beat those odds," Tsunade said, "It's the few of them against all of the ninja in Kumogakure.."

"All of the ninja in Kumogakure against Tempest and the Eagle combined?" Shizune said, faking surprise, "That much? Wow... that's horrible," Shizune smiled sweetly, "Poor guys are going to be so bored... I think Kumogakure's going to need some help.."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Orochimaru smiled as the last ninja slumped to the ground, blood running freely down his face. The Snake Sannin grinned evilly, dispersing his chakra from the ring. Kabuto stood nearby, his face pale from fright, "Orochimaru-sama..." he said softly, "How..."

The Sannin felt a surge of power as he surveyed the small ring, "And only at twenty percent strength... the Tears are powerful indeed..."

"Only twenty percent Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto said, apparently shocked, "But..." his eyes surveyed the scene before them, the extreme carnage before him making even him feel ill, "But... the power..."

"Now do you see why we must obtain all of the Tears before the Akatsuki?" Orochimaru said softly, "Nothing else is important..."

Kabuto glanced at the ring with newfound respect, almost fear. "The Tears of Blood are indeed powerful Orochimaru-sama..."

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"Mission time minus thirty seconds," Mika said, her hands starting to shake gently, "Final preparations..."

"I still say you should have put me on the rescue team.." Kiba muttered, "Naruto and his stupid excuses..."

"Aw shut it Kiba," Temari said, "You're just mad you can't get the credit for saving Lee!"

Kiba froze, his eyes becoming fully serious for a moment, "Shut up Temari," he said, "I have my reasons..."

---

Eagle Seven groped at the senbon that stuck out of his leg, "I'm hit!" he yelled, "Medic!"

"Eagle Five!" Eagle One yelled, "Get Eagle Seven to cover and treat him!"

Eagle Five ran forward under a covering hail of kunai from Eagle Two and dragged the injured Eagle Seven behind a low lying wall, "Damn it!" she yelled, "Eagle One! Poison! It's poisoned!"

"What?" Eagle One yelled, "Do you have any anti-toxins?"

"No sir! They're in my drop bag, three hundred meters to the left!"

Eagle One sighed and straightened up, "Hold fast Eagle Five!" he yelled, "We'll get you your drop bag! Try to keep the poison from spreading!" he threw a kunai at a silhouette and ran forward, dropping his weights resolutely.

"Eagle One! Are you crazy?" Eagle Three yelled, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Getting the drop bag!" he yelled back.

"But you're injured!" Eagle Two yelled, "And even if you weren't there's still over a battalion in that direction!"

"Eagle Seven deserves a chance to live..." he said resolutely, "I will not give up on him so easily,"

---

"And those are what?"Temari said jokingly, "Do you owe him your life or something?"

"I do.." Kiba said quietly.

"Well we all do, so don't think you have a monopoly on that," Mika whispered, "Now pay attention to the mission,"

-----------------------------------------------------------

Tenten nodded to Neji who signaled in turn to Tempest One, "Mission time minus ten..." Neji whispered.

Tempest One nodded, her eyes alertly surveying everything, "Demolitions?"

Tempest Six nodded, "Checked and loaded Temp One,"

"Long Range initiative?"

"Ready Temp One," Tempest Four said.

"Entry team?"

Squad Tempest nodded, each flashing their squad leader a thumbs up, "All frosty ma'am," Tempest Two said.

"Let's hit those bastards hard and make them fear the name Tempest..."

"More than they already should?"

"Yes Naruto... more then they already should,"

---------------------------------

"Mission time minus three seconds and declining," Mika announced, "Prepare to move in,"

--------------------------------

"Time minus two," Tenten said, "Final preps! Repeat: We're moving in two,"

--------------------------------

"Time minus one..." Mika said haltingly.

--------------------------------

"Minus one," Tenten announced, her brown eyes anxious.

--------------------------------

"OPERATION BEGIN!" yelled Mika, Tempest One, and Tenten, all three shouts echoing into the darkness.

---------------------------------

Tempest Six nodded, turning a small dial in his hand. A bone-rattling explosion rocked the area as the first three cutting charges cut through the hinges on the doors, and a second thud reverberated as the large heavy gate slammed into the ground, "Door down ma'am! Waiting for secondary detonation orders!"

Tempest Four quickly stood, her taut bowstring twanging three times in quick succession, each followed by a muffled thump. "Guards neutralized ma'am," she said, "Three for three,"

"Squad Tempest! Move up!" Tempest One yelled, pulling a small dagger from a holster on her back. The squad leapt up as one, all of the experienced ANBU charging straight across the flat ground. Several enemy nin appeared in the destroyed doorway, the fear and confusion clear on their faces. "Temp Six! Secondary explosives are go!"

"Ma'am!" Tempest Six yelled, turning the dial in the other direction. The enemy nin froze as they spotted the caissons, small canisters with gas and metal fragments over an explosive charge. The caissons exploded with incredible force, the blast blowing the eardrums of the enemies. Enemies fell, all dead, dying, or greviously wounded as the twin explosions of shrapnel and flame slammed into their ranks.

Squad Tempest continued to sprint, trying to clear the open ground as fast as possible. Tempest One glanced up, her keen eyes finding enemy ninja trying to approach from above them. The poor fools. "Temp Four!" she yelled.

"Got it!" Tempest Four yelled. She drew three arrows in a flash, shooting all three at once and reaching in her quiver for more arrows, methodically shooting down enemy ninja. It seemed to the squad as if the sky was suddenly raining blood. Tempest Four never missed.

Tempest One leapt to the side, avoiding an enemy nin that had been impaled by an arrow in the side. The squad quickly ran into the blown gate, their boots easily carrying them through the small fires that still raged from the caissons, "Squad Tempest! Move in and secure the area!" Tempest One yelled.

"Ma'am!" Tempest Three yelled. He quickly leapt forward, his long scythe flashing in the night air.

Neji nudged Tenten and Naruto, his eyes impressed, "That would be our cue to move in," he said. The small team ran forward as well, the sounds of fighting slowly dying away. The team walked in timidly, each member glancing around at the dead all around them.

Tempest One sighed as Tempest Two gave her a quick situational report, "Thirty enemy nin killed and nine wounded in two minutes?" she shook her head sadly, "We're getting sloppy..."

---------------------------------------------

"RAIKAGE-SAMA! RAIKAGE-SAMA!" a jounin yelled as he knocked loudly on the door of his kage's room, "Please wake up Raikage-sama! We have a situation!"

The Raikage appeared, his long white hair flowing behind him, "A situation?" he said seriously, "What kind of situation?"

"Sir! We're being attacked from both the North gates and East gates! We don't even know how many there are! None of the scouts have returned sir!" the jounin screamed hysterically, "We've raised the full alert but it will take time sir! We can only assume they are heading here! You must evacuate immediately Raikage-sama!"

"Where are the invaders?" the Raikage demanded.

"They've breached into the city and are making their way HERE sir! We have to get you out of here! Right NOW!"

The Raikage frowned, his wrinkled forehead furrowing in concentration, "The prisoners.." he whispered. "They're here for the prisoners..."

"They must be ANBU from Iwagakure sir! Most likely acting on orders from the Kazangan clan! They must be angered that we have one of their main house members as a prisoner!"

"No! That isn't it," the Raikage snapped, "That's preposterous! It must be ANBU from Konoha here to rescue the two brats!"

"Regardless, Raikage-sama," the spy said, "We must evacuate you..." he tried to hide his amazement, he had been told nothing about any mission to rescue the two ANBU, he had to do his very utmost to stop from bursting out in overjoyed tears.

"Toyo... you knew nothing of this?" the Raikage demanded, "If it has gone through Konoha's chain of command you should have heard if it..."

The spy smiled, "Raikage-sama sounds as if he does not trust me... I assure you Raikage-sama... my loyalties lie to only you, none other,"

"Well the rat that crawls away from his master once may crawl away again..." the Raikage said softly, his eyes boring into that of the spy's, the black globes betraying no emotions, "And should be watched... carefully..."

"Ah, you are so wise Raikage-sama," the spy said, "I learn much from you," he gestured politely toward the door, "Shall we head on to the shelter?"

"WE will head to the shelter, YOU will stay here," the jounin said.

--------------------------------------------------------

"There are ANBU coming to liberate the prisoners! We have orders to eliminate them before that happens!" a Cloud nin yelled as he ran down the stairs.

The torturer smiled, "Well then.." he smiled widely at the two prisoners, their sweat soaked faces in themselves a testament to the horrifying pain they had just endured, "It was fun.. but it's over now..." he drew a sword from a sheath on his side and advanced, his face shining with the anticipation of the kill. He walked forward slowly, the fear on the two ANBU's faces reflecting in the shimmering blade. Lee glared defiantly back into the eyes of the enemy, a small smile tugging at the edge of his face, "What are you laughing at?" the guard snapped, "Have you finally snapped?"

"No," Lee said, grinning painfully, "I am laughing because you have not realized your fellow guard has had a recent change in hair color,"

"What?" the torturer said, his face drawing into a frown, "Are you insane?"

"Nope," the other guard said, stabbing a kunai into the torturer's back deftly, "You're just not very observant,"

As the torturer fell over and gasped his last he felt a final sting of shame, "Pink...? How the hell... did I miss... pink?" The last image to reach his sputtering brain was that of a soft smile and a flash of pink hair.

------------------------------------------------------------------

"YOU WANNA DIE IN THE MUD?" Danzou yelled at the struggling recruit, "MOVE IT! YOU CALL YOURSELF A NE?"

"No sir!" the recruit gasped, "I mean... yes sir! Um... I don't know sir!" the recruit ducked under a kunai, the kunai coming close enough to actually clip away several of his hairs.

"You have the option to quit at anytime, scum," Danzou said calmly, "We don't need the weak in the Ne, go join the ANBU if you want to be slaughtered by the thousands with no purpose behind it,"

"And where are you going scum?" a Ne Elite called toward a Ne recruit that seemed to be striding away.

"My designation is Zulu Four, I am a member of the Fifty-ninth Intelligence Battalion serving under ANBU Elite Nara Shikamaru, and you are all under arrest for planned treason against the Godaime Hokage," the intelligence officer quickly drew a katana, "Any offensive or defensive move you make will be considered a threat and you will be neutralized for my own safety," the officer tightened his grip on the katana, "It'd be best if you'd just come quietly,"

Danzou chuckled, his hand moving under his cloak slowly, "Zulu One eh? So that Nara was smart enough to send you to look out for that blasted Hokage of yours?" he drew an object the officer had never seen before, a wide grin still plastered on his face, "You know what this is?" the ANBU officer didn't reply, his face twisted into a confused frown regardless. A loud bang echoed through the air, shattering the calm of the day with its blast. The ANBU officer gasped as a hole suddenly appeared in his chest. Danzou strolled over to him calmly, laying the barrel of the gun on the officer's forehead deftly, "What do you have to say now you're looking death in the eyes? Hm? Scared?"

The officer struggled to take a breath, his mind still reeling from the sudden damage, his lungs not functioning and a dull throb echoing through his chest as his vision blurred, "G.. G.. Godaime Hokage... and the ANBU.." he coughed, "These are what I die for... and I have no regrets,"

"Undoubtedly," a Ne Captain said, eying the dying ANBU with distaste, "You sentimental scum are all the same,"

"Well I would rather serve with scum then heartless bastards," the ANBU officer said, his face leering mockingly, "At least we can fight..."

"Enough fool," Danzou said, cocking the hammer on his pistol again, he smiled around at all of the startled Ne recruits and Ne operatives around him, "Let this be the first blood spilt for our new reign in Konoha!" The ANBU officer closed his eyes and a loud blast sealed his fate.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto yelled, "What are you doing here?"

"Not watching your backs anymore..." Sakura said softly, "Becoming my own person," she quickly wiped the dagger on her blouse, her face paling slightly as she saw the blood.

"Good job Sakura," Neji said brusquely, "I see you've already secured the packages," he walked over to the two, smiling faintly, "Hey Lee," he said gently, patting his friend lightly on the back, "Are you and Hinata-sama okay?" he asked, concern tinting his voice.

Hinata coughed painfully and turned over, her consciousness fading quickly, "Hinata-Imoutochan," she said softly.

"N.. Neji?" Lee said incredulously, as if he couldn't believe his own eyes, "What are you doing here?" He couldn't even begin to try to believe that Sakura would be there, it just didn't register in his mind.

"What do you think we're doing here?" Neji said, "We're getting you out of here since you can't do it yourselves,"

"But Neji..." Lee said softly, "Remember what you told me back in command training? 'ANBU never go back for their own',"

"They don't," Neji said softly, "But oddly enough, it just happens that WE do,"

"T.. Thank you..." Lee coughed, his strength leaving him and causing him to slump to the ground once more.

The sound of running met their ears and Neji slung Lee over his shoulders, Naruto slinging the smaller Hyuuga girl over his, "Let's move!" Neji ordered, "Tenten! Hail kunai down that corridor, if anything moves, make sure it stops moving!"

"Okay Neji!" Tenten yelled, turning and unrolling several scrolls, "Tobidogu!" Lee shuddered as blood flew and bodies thudded, his vision blurred and he fell into the soft grasp of unconsciousness.

------------------------------------------------------

"He's up!"

Lee looked around blearily, not really having his eyes focus on anything. White. A sterile, unnatural smell. Fluorescent Lights. He was in the hospital. "W.. What happened?" he said groggily.

"You're back," an unidentifiable voice said, "You're home,"

Lee squinted his eyes, gazing through the haze of pain to the people assembled all around his bed, "S.. Squad?" he said, "I.. Is Hinata-chan okay?"

"That's beyond the point," another voice cut in, this one harsh and grating, "How much did you reveal to the interrogators?" Lee felt a hand grab him by the front of his shirt and hoist him up a few inches, "You told them everything didn't you?" the nasty voice continued, "I bet you told them everything!"

"Please let my Captain down Danzou..." another voice said softly, subtle menace coming from the voice, "He most likely has told them nothing..."

"But how do you know?" the nasty voice demanded, "He could have broken!"

"Then would they continue to torture him? And if so, for what purpose? Don't be absurd!" another voice yelled.

"You overstep your boundaries Shizune!"

"And maybe you don't exactly know yours, or are too stupid to follow them!"

"You impudent..."

"STOP!" a voice rang out loudly, "If you are going to argue LEAVE,"

"Yes Hokage-sama.." the voices said, one embarrassed, the other angry.

Lee blinked his eyes, trying to clear his vision and saw the familiar silhouettes dissolve into comprehendable images, "Hokage-sama?" he groaned, trying to pull his arm into a salute.

"You can rest Lee," Tsunade said kindly, "You've been through a lot these last two weeks..."

Lee felt a sudden surge of fear as he remembered the battle, his black eyes widening, "And my squad?" he asked urgently, "Are they all okay?"

A glance passed between the Hokage and Shizune, "They're... okay..." the Hokage said haltingly.

Lee frowned, able to see through the small lie, "No they are not Hokage-sama, please tell me the truth!"

Tsunade sighed, "We wanted you to concentrate fully on your recovery but seeing as you won't leave it alone, I assume we will have to tell you..." she separated a small piece of paper from the clipboard she was holding, "ANBU Elite Mika Shirotora is injured. She'll live, but she's going to be in the hospital for a little while,"

"LET ME GO!" a voice rang from the hall.

Tsunade grimaced, her irritation crossing her eyes darkly, "Your squad wishes to see you, I assume," she said. She quickly strode over to the door and poked her head out to see several members of Squad Eagle striding quickly toward the hospital room. "I guess there's no point in giving you permission to enter, seeing as you shouldn't even be in this wing of the hospital..."

"I guess not?" Kiba said, grinning happily, "We're just here to see our Captain, you won't hold that against us will you Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade sighed playfully, shaking her head and opening the door further so the squad could get in, "I guess not..."

"Lee! You're looking better!" Tenten said happily, striding up to him and giving him a hug, "You idiot... we missed you.."

Lee felt tears coming to his eyes as he surveyed the room around him. When he was alone and needed them, his friends had come and saved him, they had all risked their lives to save his own. He could have asked them for no more. "T.. Thank you... everyone.." he said, his voice breaking with emotion, "I.. I.. I can not thank you all enough..."

"Aw, come on Lee, you've saved our lives at least a couple of times, we had to at least do this for you, right?" Kiba said.

Lee shook his head, the tears still flowing down his face, "Thank you.." he said again.

"Don't mention it Lee-san," Sakura said, smiling.

Tsunade felt her heart warming at the sight in front of her and smiled, "And I thought I would make everyone happy today," she said.

"Hokage-sama?" Tenten said, confused.

Tsunade handed a small sheet of paper to each of the squad members, "As of today, ANBU Squad Fifteen, Squad Eagle is relieved of active duty for two weeks,"

"We made our time?" Tenten asked, her eyes wide.

"Yes you have, congratulations,"

"YES!" Kiba yelled, jumping into the air.

"What does that mean?" Naruto said questioningly, "Did I miss something?"

Tenten smiled, the joy slowly creeping in, "It means... that as a squad, we've reached a whole year of operation!" she jumped over to Kiba and jumped up and down with him, "WE DID IT!"

Lee collapsed back on his bed, grinning widely, "I did not think I would ever see this day..."

"BUT WE DID!" Tenten yelled happily, pulling both of them into a big hug, "We're now official veterans!"

Shizune smiled sadly, "Yeah.. good job guys.." she said.

"Come here Shizune-san!" Kiba yelled, "You're a member of the squad too!"

Shizune smiled, "And I'll always be here for you..."

Naruto shook his head as he saw the group of ANBU and one ex-ANBU hugging each other and crying, "Weirdos..." he muttered.

"Shut up," a voice behind him said softly.

"Kakashi-san?"Naruto spun around quickly to see himself staring face to face with his old teacher, "

"Hey," Kakashi said, pulling Naruto and Sakura out of the room, he looked down on them sternly, more serious then they had ever seen him, "I never want to hear that from either of you ever again,"

"But Kakashi-san..." Naruto said loudly, "They ARE being weird!"

"No they're not.." he said, "They're celebrating the fact that in a world full of death, they have remained intact... there's nothing weird about that.." Naruto just stared at him, the words slowly sinking in, "When they were first deployed, they were told that they would die quickly, just so much more useless garbage, and that they would never last the year. Well, they have, and even further than that, none of their squad has died yet... they're celebrating being alive..."

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Author's Notes: ZOMG! I'm still alive? Sorry for the really really slow chapter! I apologise! From now on I'm going to be writing shorter chapters but they most likely will be out more often so I hope to keep up the flow of the story like that! Again, apologies for the extremely and deathfully slow chapter!

SHAMELESS PLUG TIME!  
--  
It's Never Too Late

Sakura had seen death before, had it even come so close to her that she stared it in the eyes before it backed away and she was spared, but there was one person's death that she could not just dismiss. His. She would change everything given half the chance... but what if she could? And what if it could cost her her life, even the risk of disappearing forever from the world and dying before she had even been born? She took a deep breath as she nodded, "It's never too late.."

----  
Yup, that's another fic I'll be working on soon that I am hoping to release later today. Check it out!

As always, Reviews are encouraged! Please review! **Please. Review.**

Review Replies:

Sorry for this week guys, I'm more concerned on getting this out on time so I can't really reply this time. My most heartfelt apologies.


	11. Chapter Ten: Return to Society

Chapter Ten: Returning to Society

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! And be glad I don't since I would probably ruin it.  
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"Echo One!" Echo Five screamed, "Hang on! We're coming!"

Echo One coughed, blood bubbling up between his lips and turned his head toward his squad painfully, "No... you will hold your ground, don't come out for me... you'll just get hit too.." he took another shaky breath and his hands scrabbled at the arrow that pierced his side, attempting in vain to pull it out.

Echo Seven quickly glanced over the half-demolished wall the squad was hiding behind. An arrow split the air and struck him soundly, the arrow driving into his forehead and propelling his dead body backwards several feet. "Damn it!" Echo Three screamed, "They got Seven!"

"Seven!" Echo Two yelled, clutching his sword closer to him and looking away from his friend's dead body.

Echo Three's eyes widened, his breath coming in gasps, "We have to surrender! Don't you see? If we keep this up NONE of us are going to make it out of here alive! She's too good!"

"Shut up Three!" Echo Five screamed, "We're not leaving One behind!"

"Sergeant..." Echo One gasped.

"Lieutenant?" Echo Two yelled back, chancing a glance and barely dodging an arrow of his own. "What are your orders sir?"

"Pull back to Kumogakure..." Echo One said, "You have command Sergeant,"

"Yes Sir!" Echo Two yelled, "Okay, you heard him! We're to fall back to Kumogakure!"

"No! We can't leave him!" Echo Five screamed, tears falling from her deep brown eyes, "I won't!"

"Echo Five! Stop!" Echo Two yelled. It was too late. She had already bravely run out of the demolished wall's safety. "I'm coming Echo One!" she yelled, her eyes wild and urgent, "I'll bring you back!"

"NO!" Echo Two yelled, "Echo Five! Get back here right now!"

----------------------------------------

Tempest Four drew another arrow from her quiver, silently placing it on her bow and drawing the string back in one swift practiced movement. Tempest Three frowned and reached his hand out, grabbing the bowstring just as Tempest Four released it, causing the arrow to simply slip off the bow and fail to zip off into the sky to become another projectile of death. "Temp Four.." Tempest Three said quietly, "Hold your fire... that's their medic..."

"Oh yeah?" Tempest Four spat, her eyes cold as she drew another arrow from the second quiver located at her side. "Well, if they don't stop for our medics..." she said as she stretched the bow again, "Then I don't stop for thiers.." Tempest Three looked conflicted but frowned and let go of the string, Tempest Four releasing the string and the arrow speeding off into the sky.

"Echo Five! Get back here right now!" Echo Two begged.

Echo Five quickly slid next to her squad leader and placed her hands on him, quickly spreading her healing chakra through him. "Echo One you're going to..." a whistling sound broke the tranquil calm, a horrified silence falling over Echo Squad as Echo Five slumped forward, an arrow sticking from her chest.

"ECHO FIVE!" Echo Two screamed, "ECHO FIVE!" he stood to run over to her, to help her, to pull her back into cover. He didn't know what he wanted to do, maybe he wanted to die by her side.

"Sergeant!" Echo Six yelled, pulling him back, holding the struggling Sergeant against his will, "Sergeant! Please sir! Calm down!"

"ECHO FIVE!" Echo Two bellowed again, tears running down his cheeks, "ECHO FIVE!"

Tempest Four frowned as she saw a movement under where Echo Five had collapsed. It was the enemy squad leader, he was still alive. She gritted her teeth and drew two more arrows, one of the two quivers on her back entirely empty and the quiver she kept on her side only about a quarter full as well. She placed both arrows on her bow and drew the string back again, letting fly as soon as she got the correct range.

"Calm down sir!" Echo Six yelled, shaking her Sergeant as hard as she could, "There is NOTHING we can do!"

The whistling pierced the air again and Echo One closed his eyes, sure he was going to die. He felt two jolts at the arrows hit but didn't feel any pain. Cautiously, he opened his eyes and gasped. Echo Five was lying on top of him, hugging him protectively and had taken both arrows for him. Echo Five shakily reached up and removed her mask, her face twisting into a pained smile. "E.. Echo One.." she coughed. "Are you okay?"

"Echo... Five?" Echo One said, his eyes confused, "W.. Why?"

Echo Five's eyes widened as another arrow thudded into her back, blood running freely down her torso. "B.. Because Echo One.. I.. I.. I love..." her words were cut off by another arrow, the barbed tip silencing her forever.

"Echo Five!" Echo Two screamed in agony, clawing to get away from Echo Six. Echo Six held on tightly, her face twisted in a grimace as she turned away from the corpse of her best friend.

Echo One gasped as several more arrows struck the already silent body of Echo Five, her body resembling more a pincushion than the person it did before. "YOU SICK BASTARDS!" Echo Three yelled, "SHE'S DEAD DAMN IT! SHE'S DEAD! STOP IT!"

"We're falling back! Right now!" Echo Three demanded as he pulled several members of his squad away. Echo Two nodded shakily and followed him, his eyes still dripping tears.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Shikimaru opened the door to his office and walked in, he sighed, staff meetings were so incredibly troublesome. He clicked the light on and frowned, his keen eyes darting around that room and noting the different pattern of a part of the wall than was usual. It was barely noticeable but he did notice it, frowning, "You have caused Danzou-sama problems..." a voice said ominously, "That cannot be excused,"

"Is that so?" Shikamaru said with boredom, his exterior not changing at all but his mind already racing to come up with a strategy. The assassin quickly dropped the camouflage blanket he had been hiding behind and jumped forward, his dagger flashing in the air. Shikamaru frowned again and leapt, the assassin flying under him and landing in an undignified heap on the far wall. The assassin stood, his intention to attempt to accomplish his motive again but suddenly felt his body stiffen as if it no longer belonged to him. Shikamaru stood silently, his hands still formed in the seal for his Kage Mane. "Danzou sent you?" he said curtly, "Well, did he?"

"You'll get nothing out of me," the assassin growled back, his eyes flashing defiantly.

Shikamaru sighed and reached into his kunai holster, drawing a rubber kunai from his holster, the assassin being forced to mimic the action exactly, drawing a kunai of his own. Shikamaru pressed the rubber kunai against his arm strongly and heard the assassin gasp as he followed suit and his arm began to bleed from the bite of the sharp kunai he had drawn. "You see, now you will do everything I am," Shikamaru said, pressing even harder with the rubber kunai, "The only difference is that my kunai is rubber... and yours, is not,"

"I won't tell you anything!" the assassin said again, "I am fully prepared to die!"

Shikamaru nodded, "I respect you for that at least," he said, positioning the rubber kunai over his throat, "Now... maybe we should see how deep your devotion really goes?"

----------------------------------------------

Lee's keys jangled as he unlocked his door, the cool, almost sterile air blasting into his face. He dropped the box that had all of his equipment in it onto the ground and stumbled to his bedroom. He smiled, he hadn't thought that he would be returning to this room, he thought that the cold, cramped cell in Kumogakure was where his life would end, but it didn't, and he was glad. He collapsed on the still perfectly folded bed and immediately felt the tug of sleep, he gave into the desire to rest, his breath slowly deepening as he drifted away. For the first time in a year, he didn't dream of death, of dying, or of killing, instead, his dreams were filled with cherry blossoms.

----------------------------------------------

A loud thud reverberated through the air as Tenten dropped the box that held the contents of her ANBU equipment locker on the ground. She smiled, a smile though a different kind of smile than she had used for the last year. This smile wasn't just a vain stretch of the mouth to convince others that she wasn't afraid to death herself, it was a genuine smile of the kind that touched her eyes and made her glow, Tenten began to fiddle with her keys to open her door when it flung open, a small red-haired blur colliding with her stomach and knocking her breathless, "ONEE-CHAN!" the red-haired girl squealed, "You're home! I missed you so much!"

Tenten quickly knelt and hugged the sniffling girl gently. She quickly extricated herself from the smaller girl's grasp and held her out at arm's length, smiling down at her, "Already back from the Academy Hitomi-chan?" she said.

"Uh huh!" Hitomi yelled, "Onee-chan! I did just like you showed me and Iruka-sensei complemented me!"

Tenten nodded, "Did he?"

"Yeah! He said I was one of the best he's ever seen at kunai handling!"

"Well of course he did," Tenten said, with a dismissive shrug that made her little sister frown. Tenten suddenly grinned, "You're an Ara! I always knew you were amazing Hitomi-chan!"

Hitomi nodded and looked down, nervously scratching the back of her head, "A.. Are you proud of me Onee-chan?" she asked quietly.

Tenten lifted the girl up, hugging her again, "Hitomi-imoutochan..." she said softly, "I am, and always will be proud of you... nothing you do will ever change that okay?" Hitomi smiled and nodded and Tenten put her back down gently, "What would you like to eat?" she asked, "I'll get you anything you want! Let's celebrate!"

------------------------------------------------

"Why don't you ask my sister Hana? She's more qualified than I am at this sort of thing,"

"Chunin Inuzuka Hana is currently on a mission to Sunagakure to assist our allies there to eliminate the problems they have been having with the local wolf population. As another member and the current head of the Inuzuka clan, a clan specializing in animals and the interaction between humans and animals, and taking into account that no Shirotora can be summoned here with ease considering the distances involved, the duty falls to you,"

"Yes ma'am.." Kiba said wearily, walking out of the room and exiting the building. He quickly walked down the street, stopping and entering the hospital. He asked the attendant at the desk for the room he needed and walked up the several flights of stairs to the room. He quickly entered room 403 and closed the door, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the dim light. A solitary figure lay in the single bed, the quiet beeping of several monitors attributing to the injuries she had obtained.

---

"Cloud nins! Garrison strength heading this way!" Temari yelled, flipping backwards just in time to avoid a kunai.

"Ma'am! Escape angle cut off!" Kiba added.

Mika frowned, her eyes panicked, "Okay, we're going to hold until they give the signal! Hold until signal!" she yelled. As if waiting for her words, a bright blue flare suddenly split the sky, "Signal!" Mika screamed, "Fall back to our first detachment!"

An alarmingly large number of enemy-nins began to move in their direction, their eyes shining with the glow of battle, "Ma'am! We're cut off!" Kiba said again.

Mika frowned, nodding, "Go on ahead, I'll take care of this,"

"You're crazy," Kiba yelled, "Do you see how many of them there are?"

"Just get to safety," Mika said softly, "This is my choice,"

---

Kiba frowned and placed his hand on her cool forehead, gently brushing her hair back, "I should have never let you do it Mika.." he muttered, "I'm sorry..." Kiba's eyes widened and he jerked his hand back just in time to avoid a nasty slash from Rai, the cat perched protectively on her master's chest. Kiba smiled at Rai gently, "Come on kitty... you want to be fed right?" Rai's eyes narrowed as if she understood his words and she stubbornly laid down next to Mika, defying him with her eyes. "Akamaru! Please talk some sense into that thing.." Kiba pleaded.

"Kiba-kun's orders shall do thy no harm" Akamaru said softly, "He thinks solely for the betterment of thy master," 

"Lecture me not canine," Rai spat back, "You can nay convince me to leave Mika-chan's side. I shall never leave her here alone to the doctors' ill machinations." 

"None of these doctors hath ill will towardeth thou," Akamaru said soothingly, "Thou hath my word," 

"Canine," Rai said loudly, "Would thou abandon thy master in his time of strife? Thy knoweth the evils of the human soul, thou hath seen it in their eyes.." Rai nodded toward Mika, her eyes softening, "She is an innocent, and so she shall remain while I exist to guard her. Rai made a dismissive gesture with her tail, "Now leave me be canine,"

"Listen to thy speak," Akamaru retorted, "Thy behave as if thy hath seen all in the world when it is truly not so. My master hath not but true and just intent, thy art too possessive to understand the conditions here it seems,"

"I hath provideth for myself since before thy was a mere pup, thy SHALL NOT lecture me on the workings of this world!" 

Akamaru flicked his tail in annoyance and turned to Kiba. Kiba looked confused, he had only heard Akamaru's portion of the conversation and was fairly lost, "Yon kitten," Akamaru spat, putting extra emphasis on the word kitten, "Yon KITTEN, refuseth to come with thou Kiba-kun,"

"What?" Kiba demanded, "Why not?"

"Yon kit seemeth to suspect thy habor ill will towardeth her master"

"You're joking," Kiba exclaimed, "She risked her life for us! She saved us all! And her cat thinks we're going to harm her?"

"Thou mayest not be as ignorant as I first suspected human," Rai said mockingly.

"Silence," Akamaru replied, "I shall nay stand to see thy disrepecteth my master as such..."

Kiba sighed and shook his head. "I thought this would be an easy mission... go to the hospital.. feed a kitten.. go home and rest... but no, it turns out like this," he muttered. He looked Rai straight in the eyes and sat down in a chair facing her, "Fine," Kiba said, "If you refuse to leave, then I'll stay here with you,"

---------------------------------------------------------

Hinata hurried home, her long ANBU cloak flapping in the brisk wind. She cautiously entered the grounds of the Hyuuga complex and walked to her room, her long hair flapping behind her as she quickly shuffled to her room. She did not run. Hyuuga do not run. "Hinata.." a stern voice called, "Come here,"

Hinata grimaced, quickly walking into her father's room and sinking into the lowest bow she could manage, "Otousan?" she said quietly.

"You allowed yourself to be captured?" the cold voice remarked, "You allowed yourself to be captured and you have DISGRACED THE NAME OF THE HYUUGA! AGAIN!"

Hinata tried to keep her eyes from tearing up but failed, the tears falling no matter how hard she tried, "I.. I.. I am so sorry Otousan.." she whispered, "I will never let it happen again.."

"SEE THAT IT DOESN'T!" Hiashi roared, "IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN, JUST DO NOT RETURN! WE DO NOT NEED WEAKLINGS IN THE HYUUGA!"

"Yes Otousan..." Hinata whispered, "I.. I will remove myself from your presence now..."

"Go on then," Hiashi snarled, "Your presence sickens me,"

Hinata bowed quickly and left, the tears still falling in graceful arcs from her face. She stole into her room and sat down on the bed, eventually collapsing in her grief and crying until her eyes were red and puffy. "Weakling..." a taunting voice called, "You utter and completely useless and weak piece of garbage.."

Hinata winced and turned, wiping the tears from her eyes and attempting to smile for her little sister, "Ah.. Hanabi-chan.." she said gently, "I am pleased to see you again..."

"So you didn't die?" Hanabi said, "What, did they deem you so weak that you were unfit to even die with honor? Did your little squad have to save you again? How many died so they could save your pathetic carcass?"

Hinata drew back a little, her hand drifting up to her mouth in shock, "H.. H.. Hanabi-chan..." she said softly, her eyes wide with shock, "I.."

"Don't even speak to me!" Hanabi yelled, "You disgrace us all!"

Hinata lowered her head again, the tears starting anew, "I.. I know Hanabi-chan.." she said softly, "I'm sorry..."

"Sorry is all you ever are!" Hanabi screeched, her voice rising like a banshee's, "Sorry, sorry sorry! Can't you actually do anything without apologizing? Are you really that incredibly pathetic?"

Hinata lowered her head and mumbled something again, her tears still flowing like a river. Hanabi smirked at her older sister's torment and opened her mouth to continue when a hand landed heavily on her shoulder, "Cease," Neji said softly.

"Neji..." Hanabi said loudly, "Did you just dare touch me with your hands that are of the branch family? You do know that that is forbidden for someone of your... birthright.."

"I fully understand," Neji said coldly, "But you must understand, I have ceased to care about that at this moment,"

"Otousan!" Hanabi yelled, "Neji-kun and I must speak with you..." Neji flinched but remained steadfast, "He dares to defy the main house of the Hyuuga,"

Hinata slid down on her bed, unable to cry any more, numb from the pain and the heartache but not expecting much more as she had experienced it before, many times before, more than any child should ever have to bear. As she stared at the wall of her room impassively, a pained scream shot through the still air, a male voice. Hinata covered her eyes with her hands and silently wondered if maybe she would have been better off had she had died in that cold, dark and bleak prison.

--------------------------------------------------------

Temari smiled, "Yeah yeah, shut up Kankurou," she said.

"What!" Kankurou said, smiling, "You HAVE gotten larger since the last time we saw you!"

"Well that's what happens you idiot!" Temari yelled back.

"So how far away is it Temari?" Gaara asked softly.

"Maybe five months or so, maybe even more than that,"

Gaara looked perplexed, his brow furrowing, "And.. then I'll be its uncle?" Temari nodded and Gaara smiled softly, the fierce Kazekage's face briefly seeming like a young child's, "Hm... I hope all goes well Temari..." he said finally, unable to really mention his emotions.

"I'll get an 'Onee-chan' out of you one day Gaara-kun," Temari said playfully, "I mean Kazekage-sama,"

Gaara looked at his older sister, his eyes hinting toward a smile, "Gaara-kun will be just fine.. Onee-chan.."

Temari hugged him tightly, "I'm glad Gaara-kun..."

----------------------------------------------------------

"Asuma-sama" the runner yelled, "The Fire Lord requests all of the previous twelve guard ninja of Fire to report to him immediately!"

Asuma nodded and dismissed the runner. He sighed, putting his cigarette out, a classic sign of something troubling him. "Damn..." he muttered, "So it's starting.." Asuma frowned, he had so much he wanted to do before he left but he had to narrow his list down, the Fire Lord was expecting him. He quickly ran down the road to Training Ground 23, Yuhi Kurenai's person favorite training site. He heard her voice running through jutsus and smiled, stepping out quickly.

"Asuma-kun!" Kurenai said, smiling, "What are you doing here so early?" she frowned, unable to see a lit cigarette of any kind on his person. "A.. Asuma-kun..." she said softly, "Is everything okay?"

"I.. got the message.." Asuma said, "They want me to guard the Fire Lord again..."

"Does that mean.." Kurenai said, her eyes wide.

"Yes," Asuma interrupted, "That is exactly what it means..."

"Oh Asuma!" Kurenai yelled, running toward him and hugging him tightly, burying her head in his chest, "I.. I don't want you to go..."

"I have to..." Asuma said sadly.

"But what about... what about us?"

"After the war... I promise.."

Kurenai smiled and stretched up, kissing Asuma delicately, she pulled away, a grin on her face, "Don't keep me waiting too long..."

Asuma grinned, "I won't,"

-----------------------------------------------------

Shikamaru stood silently, his eyes surveying the black stone before him, "So Chouji.." he said, "Am I doing the right thing? Can I risk anyone's life again?" Shikamaru sighed, unable to discern any sort of meaning from the featureless black stone.

"I don't know Shikamaru, you tell me," a voice floated back.

"Asuma-sensei?" Shikamaru quickly turned around to see his old sensei striding toward him.

"I knew you would be here Shikamaru.." Asuma said, his eyes resting on two names on the stone as well. Akimichi Chouji. Yamanaka Ino.

"Yeah... you guessed right.." Shikamaru said.

Both ninja stood silently, staring at the black memorial stone with the names of the brave engraved on the surface. "Shikamaru.." Asuma said softly, "Do you remember that game of Shogi we had Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru knew, he knew immediately but chose his words carefully, "Which game of Shogi, Asuma-sensei?" he asked, "We've played many games of it over the years..."

"The one where I told you that you represented the knight..."

"Oh, that game of Shogi..."

"Do you know what the king stands for now, Shikamaru?" Asuma said quietly.

"You told me it wasn't the Hokage.." Shikamaru said, "But beyond that, I don't have any idea who it could be,"

Asuma shook his head, "You're not thinking of this correctly," he said. He almost laughed, he had never expected to say those words to Shikamaru in his life, "It isn't a person... it's a group.."

"What?"

"The king is the most important piece in Shogi, Shikamaru," Asuma said, "It is the piece that everything focuses around, that gives the other pieces the morale and ability to fight... it is this one single piece that all of the other pieces can be sacrificed for..."

"So you're saying..."

"The king, Shikamaru, is Konoha. Everything we do, we do for it, everything to preserve it, to hold it close to us, to never let it go... because... this is where our future, past, and present lie. Shikamaru, we are all pieces... and to some extent we are all disposable... but Konoha... our king, our most important piece is not. No matter how many pieces we must sacrifice... the king must remain,"

Shikamaru frowned, all of it made sense to him now, "I see," he said softly. "Asuma-sensei... why are you telling me this now?"

Asuma smiled and began to walk away toward the North Gate, "Because this may be the last chance I have the ability to tell you," he said over his shoulder.

---------------------------------------------------------

"DAMN IT!" Echo Two yelled, slamming his fist into the wall, "Why'd they have to die..." he whispered, "Echo One... Echo Five... Echo Seven... they were just doing their duties.. why..." Echo Two found he couldn't even finish his sentence, being too far overcome with tears.

"It's all those Konoha-nins' faults," Echo Six said, "They're monsters... they only live to kill..."

"How could they... a medic... Echo Five was a medic..."

"They don't care! An enemy is an enemy to them! They don't show any restraint!"

"I say we stop showing any kind of restraint too!"

"Yeah! We'll give them a taste of how it feels when that happens!"

"Konoha is going to have to watch out for us!"

"ONE!"

"TWO!"

"THREE!"

"ECHO!"

-----------------------------------------------------

"All for?"

"Aye,"

"Aye,"

"Aye,"

"Aye,"

"All against?"

"Nay,"

"Nay,"

"Is everyone certain this is the outcome desired? Yes? Then it is decided. The Alliance marches on Konohagakure in a week's time,"

Unknown to the delegates, there was another whose presence was in the room. He quickly rolled up his scroll and walked out into the sunlight. He had to warn Konoha, it was in danger. He had heard everything from the small ink fly that he had used to spy on them, the fly simply melding into the ceiling as if it had been painted there all along.

-------------------------------------------------------  
Notes: Heya guys, this is the beginning of my new shorter chapter updates. I'm going to try to update every week if not sooner but it's going to be a little difficult with school and all so I beg you to please be patient. Thanks for reading everyone!

Everyone watch our for some one-shots I will write to further explain with, they won't be neccasary to the enjoyment of this fic, but will act as a sort of supplement to explain, emphasize, and illustrate some things. **Eagle One: Eyes of Brown** should be out very soon. Check back on my profile ever so often for them!

**PLEASE REVIEW.**

**Things that will be revealed later that IS NOT WRONG and I would just love if people would stop telling me is wrong:  
- The Lee impersonation, and the Henge involved  
- Hinata using the Hakke Rokujuuyon Sho on Orochimaru  
- Shikamaru's spy in Ne  
- Freaking Itachi already.  
-Basically anything else that seems wrong because you lack ****FACTS  
  
I apologise for sounding a little on edge but it gets annoying to be told something is wrong when you've already taken things into account. I'm not saying don't respond, but please don't outright tell me something is wrong when you HAVE NO FACTS about the topic.**

Review Replies:  
-sigh- Again guys, sorry about this but I'm hard-pressed to release the chapter, I'll try my hardest to reply next time, a million apologies.


	12. Chapter Eleven: Recall

Eagle Eleven: Recall, Training, and the Rear Guard

Disclaimer: Naruto isht nawht mhine.  
----------------------------------------------------------------

"Lee-kun!" a voice called.

Lee stopped, his keen eyes glancing around. "Oh! Mine-chan!" he said, "How are you today?"

The brown-haired girl smiled, "I'm fine Lee-kun! I'm so happy to see you're okay!"

"Well I heard you and Tempest had much to do with that!" Lee exclaimed, "How can I ever thank you?"

"Aw, think nothing of it!" Mine yelled, "We can't leave one of our own for the Kumo nins can we? That just wouldn't be right! Umeko-chan! Come here for a second!"

Another small girl walked up, a bow tucked neatly under her arm and an arrow held in her mouth as she struggled to retighten the barbed tip onto the main shaft. Her dark eyes flashed as she saw Lee, the arrow falling from her mouth in her shock, "Lee-san!" she yelled, "You're up again!"

"Yes Umeko-chan," Lee said, "I am doing well now thanks to all of you,"

"Aw don't mention it!" Umeko said, shifting the bow so it hung down over her back so she could reach out and hug her old squadmate, "So how's life as a Captain, sir?" she said jokingly.

Lee smiled, shaking his head, "You know as well as I do that though you are not a squad leader you have the same rank as I do," he said.

"Yeah, of course, but I just like having you say so!" Umeko smiled suddenly as she looked at her squad leader who suddenly seemed to find a small spot on the pavement very interesting, "Hey Lee-san.." she said, "You didn't give Mine-chan a hug..."

Mine's head shot upward, her face red, "No! It's fine! I.. um.."

Umeko couldn't hold it any longer and burst into a peal of laughter, "She STILL likes you Lee!" she shrieked, still shaking with laughter.

"Umeko! Shut up!" Mine yelled desperately, her face turning red again. Umeko opened her mouth to say something again when Mine suddenly jumped and covered her mouth. "STOP!" she yelled.

Lee looked away, "Ah... so maybe this was not the best time to.."

"No!" Mine yelled desperately, "Um.. would you... like to go somewhere Lee-kun?"

Lee smiled and shook his head, "Maybe... some other time Mine-chan..?" he said, walking away and leaving the girls standing there.

Mine sighed, her light hazel eyes downcast, "Yeah..." she whispered, "Maybe some other time.."

"Hey commander!" a fully dressed ANBU yelled, "We're needed for a quick op! Some kind of uprising in sector fifteen!"

"I'll be right there Temp Two!" Mine yelled. She lifted a hand up and softly brushed away a tear that had just begun to spring from her eye. "Let's hit it," she said, turning toward Umeko.

Umeko nodded but looked slightly sheepish, "I'm sorry Mine.." she said softly, "I didn't know you were still that much in love with him..."

"It's okay Umeko-chan," Mine said, blinking to clear her eyes, "We have a mission we need to get to,"

"Yes ma'am"

-----------------------------------------------------

"While Captain Lee's away I have command," Tenten said, "We're not going to have active practice since..."

"Yeah!" Naruto yelled.

Tenten twitched and shook her head, "Would you shut up?"

Kiba twitched too but wasn't as controlled as Tenten, "SHUT UP!" he hissed, motioning to the small figure in the bed, "We're in a hospital!"

Naruto frowned, "Oh right, sorry,"

"Anyway," Tenten said, "Naruto, you and Sakura are lacking basic ANBU competency training. Lee has asked me to give you these,"

Naruto stared at the twin slips of paper Tenten held out to them, "What's that?" he asked.

"Your tickets to Boot," Tenten said with a wicked grin.

"We're... not going to like this.. are we?" Sakura said.

"Nope," Kiba said cheerfully.

--------------------------------------------------------

The Ne sharpshooter took a deep breath, steadying his rifle. He quietly focused on his commander's words, feeling all of the muscles in his body relax and the rifle becoming even steadier. His target was moving down his way slowly, the golden sash he wore glittering impressively in the sun. "And you are?" his target said softly, looking him directly in the eye. The sharpshooter jumped, unable to believe that he had been exposed. He quickly lined up his sights again and began to squeeze the trigger. The sharpshooter blinked in surprise and horror as suddenly the target was gone from his sights, a kunai hovered near his throat, and his rifle lay in pieces on the ground. All before he could even move. "Who sent you?" the voice growled. "And why are you so sloppy? I KNOW I didn't train you.."

---------------------------------------------------

"Top-sensei!" Tenten yelled, saluting.

The old ANBU scratched his head awkwardly and saluted back, "Ara-sama," he said, "Why the salute?"

"You never forget those who taught you sir!" she said. "No matter what rank we get to be, you'll always be our better,"

He shook his head, smiling faintly, "Well I don't know what to say Ara-sama," he turned his head and looked at Naruto and Sakura, both of who were standing quietly next to Tenten, "And would these be the two I'm supposed to train?"

"Yes sir," Tenten said, "This is ANBU Level One Uzumaki Naruto and Anbu Level One Haruno Sakura,"

"Rookie Uzumaki, Rookie Haruno," the old ANBU said officially, "It is nice to meet you,"

"Nice to meet you too," Naruto said.

"Snap to attention when you're talking to me rook!" the old ANBU yelled.

"What?" Naruto said, frowning in confusion.

"Didn't you hear me? SNAP TO ATTENTION!"

"Attention?"

"ROOK! YOU WILL SNAP TO ATTENTION RIGHT NOW!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Head up! Arms parallel to your legs! Heels together and toes apart at a forty-five degree angle! Straighten up that back!" the old ANBU yelled.

Tenten smiled as she watched Naruto awkwardly try to follow his instructions and heard Top screaming at him. It was just like her days at Boot. "Top-sensei!" she said loudly.

"Ma'am?"

"I'll entrust them to you!"

"Yes Ma'am, very good ma'am!"

----------------------------------------------------

Alpha Commander glanced to the left, a flash of light and a loud bang attracting his attention. Alpha Commander blinked and waved his hand near his face, some kind of bug had just flown past him, the buzzing sound passing incredibly close to his neck. He heard another clicking sound in the bushes and frowned. Something didn't seem right. He began to walk toward the bushes, his long white hair trailing behind him. "Is someone there?" he said. The clicking sound quickly ceased and a tube poked itself out of the bush. "What is that? Who are you? Reveal yourself!" Alpha Commander demanded. Alpha Commander blinked as there was a loud bang and a bright flash of light. He fell backwards, his hands flying up to the large hole in his chest, his mind reeling.

The Ne sharpshooter smiled. Commander Danzou's strategy was impeccable. If you cut the base out from under an organization, the rest would be sure to follow. He smiled. This was easier than he had expected.

---------------------------------------------------

"Did you hear that Shenai-sensei was attacked this morning?"

"What? Why?"

"I'm not sure.. it's not like he's a high rank or anything.. maybe it was a mistake?"

"That's not it,"

"What?"

"That isn't it. It wasn't an accident"

"What do you mean? What could Top possibly have that someone would want to kill him for?"

"He has the most powerful thing possible,"

"Oh? And what's that?"

"Knowledge,"

------------------------------------------------------

"Attention to Arms!" Top yelled.

Naruto quickly snapped to attention, trying to slow his breathing from having run so far. His legs strained and his feet hurt but he knew that if he didn't he would be in far more trouble. "Sir!" he yelled along with the other twenty ANBU rookies he had been training with.

"Rook!" Top yelled, stopping next to Sakura, "What is your name?"

"Haruno Sakura sir!" she yelled.

"Haruno Sakura?" Top said incredulously, "Your name isn't Haruno Sakura! Whenever you're in my presence your name is Eagle Five! Do you understand?"

"Yes sir!" Sakura yelled.

"An ANBU soldier may be ordered to do something he feels is wrong." Top bellowed, walking amongst the ranks, "The soldier may feel it's wrong, morally or otherwise, but the soldier must follow the order anyway! Without orders, an army is nothing but a killing mob! The only thing separating a soldier from a murderer are orders and the will to carry them out! Understand?"

"Sir yes sir!"

Top stopped directly before Naruto. Naruto gulped, his hands trembling visibly. "Eagle Six!" Top bellowed.

"Yeah?"

Top seemed to swell up, his face contorting, "Yeah? YEAH?"

Naruto blinked and quickly tried to correct his error, his mind racing, "I mean... Yeah.. sir! Yes, sir!"

"Eagle Six!" Top yelled, "Punch me!"

"What?"

Top looked him straight in the eyes and repeated it, "PUNCH ME ROOK!" he yelled.

"Sir?"

"ROOK! If you don't punch me in a few seconds we're going to have a real problem!"

"But why?"

"WHO CARES WHY? IT'S AN ORDER!"

"No!"

"ARE YOU REFUSING AN ORDER ROOK?"

Naruto looked extremely confused, his eyes wide and unsure, "I don't understand! Why would I punch you!" he yelled back.

Top frowned and shook his head, "Idiot.." he muttered.

"What?" Naruto said again, the purpose of the exercise still not having dawned on him.

"I just gave you an order.."

"Well that's crazy! I'm not going to punch you!"

"You follow orders when given rook,"

"Not if they're like that!"

"When you are given orders, regardless of what they are, and regardless of your feeling about them, you follow them. Understand?"

Naruto sighed and stood even straighter, "Yes sir,"

-------------------------------------------

"The Kazangan Clan demands the return of all of our members inherent by blood back to Iwagakure!" the Rock nin yelled.

"You're kidding," Tsunade said incredulously, "What about all of the trust we've built up over the years? Are you just going to drop that like nothing?"

"That is not the issue at hand," the Rock nin said, "We demand a recall of all our members immediately!" Tsunade opened her mouth to argue, to present some kind of argument, anything, but was cut off by the Rock nin again, "Note that declining our request is tantamount to a declaration of war..."

"Hokage-sama," her advisor said softly, "It would be best to accept their offer..."

"What offer?" Tsunade hissed back, "That wasn't an offer! That was a threat!"

"Ma'am we cannot.."

"Yes, we can't risk war with Iwagakure, I KNOW," Tsunade snapped. The Rock nin looked at them oddly and Tsunade shook her head, "Fine.." she said softly, "Recall them.."

"Thank you Hokage-sama," the Rock nin said, "I will make my leave now,"

Kakashi shook his head, "I'm never going to get used to those eyebrows.." he said.

----------------------------------------------------

Lee frowned, "So this is why you wished to speak with me Shikamaru?"

"Yeah," Shikamaru said, "Hokage-sama may be in danger..."

"Do you have any proof of this?"

"Plenty," Shikamaru said, "I even sent in a spy to investigate and he hasn't reported back in. I gave him strict orders not to engage but it seems he did anyway,"

"So what should we do?"

"We need to assemble the Rear Guard again,"

"You must be joking.." Lee said, staring at Shikamaru as if he was crazy.

"Not at all," Shikamaru replied. "The Rear Guard is probably the only single combat entity that could be a match against Danzou's forces,"

"Shikamaru.." Lee said softly. "You are speaking of fighting fellow ANBU.. our brothers and sisters.."

"The facts are staring you in the face Lee," Shikamaru replied, "Please call the Rear Guard,"

Lee nodded sadly, "I will go inform Mine-chan of the new development,"

"Thanks Lee"

--------------------------------------------------

"ANBU Captain Lee!" a voice called.

Lee stopped walking, turning his head and looking at the speaker. "Sir?"

"By order of the Kazangan Clan you are being withdrawn from this village," the Rock nin said.

"What do you mean?"

"You are Kazangan Lee correct? ANBU Captain?"

Lee nodded, "My name is Rock Lee," he said, "I no longer acknowledge the name of Kazangan,"

"Preposterous!" the Rock nin roared, "You cannot just deny your heritage!"

"I wish I could not," Lee said, "But I had no choice in the matter. It, denied me."

"Return to us, Lee," the Rock nin said, "You have proven yourself. Not even your father..."

"Don't mention him in my presence!" Lee yelled, momentarily losing the normal politeness he used at all times. "I don't want to even hear him mentioned!"

The Rock nin blinked in surprise and tried to console the enraged jounin, "Lee-sama... I apologize.." he said, "I simply meant to express our concern and wish for yourself and Kazangan Gai to return to Iwagakure,"

"Gai-sensei is no longer among the living.." Lee said sadly, "And even if he was, we would never accept your offer!"

"Why not?" The Rock nin snapped, "You cannot tell me that you feel at home here!"

"Ever since my father abandoned me here, this has been my home. I am a proud ninja of Konoha and I will never abandon it, I have too much here,"

"Like what?" the Rock nin spat, "In Iwagakure you will have money, prestige, clansmen. Here you have nothing! Here you are nothing but a freak, an outcast, without even a family member!"the Rock nin gestured to the people who were clustered around them angrily, "Look at them! What do they call you? 'The Hot-Blooded Dropout'! The loser! Thick-brows! In Iwagakure you will have the respect you so deserve!"

"You are wrong," Lee said, shaking his head, "I have much here,"

"But... in Iwagakure.."

"I will lack the things most important to me," Lee finished.

"And what would that be exactly?"

Lee stood even straighter, looking the Rock nin directly in the eye, "My friends to whom I have pledged my friendship. My squad to whom I have pledged my life. And my dearest love to whom I have pledged my heart. They are the most important things I possess.. and no matter how much money the Kazangan clan may throw at me... these they can never replace.."

"So this is your final decision then?" the Rock nin spat, "You choose to stay here with these vermin?"

Lee's eyes flashed dangerously, so much so that the Rock nin had to take several steps back, "NEVER," Lee spat vehemently, "CALL THEM VERMIN, EVER, AGAIN,"

Several of the bystanders smiled, showing their appreciation for the person who was sticking up for them, "Fight for Konoha!" one bystander yelled, "Show them that we won't stand people who disrespect the Leaf!"

"KONOHA!" another bystander yelled, "Goback to Iwa you thick-browed freak!"

"See what they call you?" the Rock nin said furiously, "Demand respect from them! You are a Kazangan! You are above this trash!"

Lee shook with laughter silently, " It is not I they speak of," he said, "It is you,"

The Rock nin shook with fury and whipped around, glaring at the laughing Leaf nins, "SILENCE!" he bellowed, "How dare you laugh at your better?"

"I see no better here thick-brows!" another bystander said.

The Rock nin seethed silently and turned back to Lee, "I will inform the Kazangan of your decision..." he said. The Rock nin then stalked away angrily.

"Sir!" a chunin yelled, "You sure showed that thick-browed idiot!"

"Yeah! One more for Konoha!" a genin yelled, pumping his fist into the air.

Lee nodded, "Konoha!" he roared.

------------------------------------------------------

"In the field you will have to make decisions pertaining to your teammates!" Top yelled, "You will have to choose between your own physical well-being or that of your teammates! The thing that separates ANBU from regular line troops is their ability to care for their teammates before themselves at all times!" Top gestured to each of the rookies, each having a large jug of water in a rucksack on their back. "This is an exercise that will determine your ability to care for your teammates over yourself. These are forty pound jugs of water... they may seem light now, but in a few moments we're going to be running up to the Hokage monument, climb it without using chakra and then run around the village of Konoha! It's going to get awfully heavy by then. Now... your decision is this... you won't be holding your water, you will be holding your teammate's water. He or she can either have you drop amounts of it, and save you the weight but have less water to drink on our brisk little jog, or they can decide to have you hump all of the water... it's really up to them... but I'd better not see any of you drinking the water you're holding, or dropping it without your partner's consent... if I DO, I'll kick you off the mountain.." Top motioned to them all, "Alright.. let's get this little run underway.."

Naruto nodded to Sakura, his legs already straining from the heavy water, "Let's do it Sakura-chan!" he yelled.

"Right Naruto!" Sakura yelled back. Both of the rookie ANBU took off, following only a few steps behind Top. Top had an eighty pound jug of water on his back, the massive pack swishing as he ran. He had been asked why he had a pack himself and he had simply replied that he didn't expect anyone to do anything that he couldn't do himself two times over. Sakura smiled, Top's training methods may have been difficult, but the old ANBU was trustworthy and she knew that when they finished their training they would be strong enough to face anything that could possibly be against them.

"Keep it tight!" Top ordered, "Fox Seven! Run faster! You're dropping back!"

Fox Seven panted as he tried to run faster, his legs flopping painfully, "Sir!" he panted, "I.. I can't.."

"Fox Seven!" Fox Three yelled, "It's okay! Drop the water!"

"What? How much?"

"Just drop all of it! It's okay!"

Fox Seven nodded, his weary face breaking into a grin, "Fox Three.. I'm sorry.." he said softly, "I can't"

"What?"

"I'm not going to let you go without water while carrying mine!" Fox Seven yelled, "If we drop water it's going to be at the same time!" he yelled. Fox Seven gritted his teeth and increased his pace, running harder and fell back in with the rest of the runners, forgetting his own pain and fatigue so that he wouldn't disappoint his teammate.

Top smiled. This was the best part of his job by far. He had been offered many positions. ANBU Elite, ANBU strategist, a teaching position at the Academy, but he refused them all, all of it for these moments. The moments that a ragged group started to think about the team rather than as individuals, those were the moments that made all of the difficult training runs and painful exercises worth it. Top loved his job. "All right Fox Seven!" he said cheerfully, "That's the way!"

Naruto looked up, that was the most happy he had ever heard Top. He shook his head, maybe there was more to the strictness than was apparent at first. "Let's go!" he yelled, "We can do this!"

"There we go rook!" Top yelled happily, "That's the way! Lead on!"

--------------------------------------------------

Kiba yawned, standing up and stretching. He was getting tired of sleeping in that cramped chair. "Hey Akamaru," Kiba said casually, "Wake up Rai and ask her what she wants to eat,"

"Kitten.. KITTEN!" Akamaru yelled, trying to wake up the slumbering feline, "KITTEN!"

"What doth thy want pup?" Rai said, "Can thy not leave me alone?"

"As much as I would enjoy watching thy die slowly from starvation, Kiba-kun requests thy inform him of thy dining preferences,"

"Thou jest..." Rai said, "What art thy motives?" 

"Kiba-kun's motive is to keep thy flesh and bone together you daft kitten," Akamaru said. "Now what shalt thy dine on? Quickly now!"

Rai chuckled warmly and shook her head, "Humans are indeed a difficult species, eh pup?" she shook her head again, "I require no food at this moment... but thank thy master for me..." Rai seemed to think for a moment, eventually giving a sly grin again, "Akamaru-dono"

Akamaru swished his tail in surprise at the sudden respect and nodded, "Very well Rai-dono," he said, "I shall inform Kiba-kun of such," Akamaru quickly turned to Kiba and explained.

Kiba nodded. "Okay, so no food for her then," he said, "Would you like anything Akamaru?" Akamaru flicked his tail, an obvious rejection and Kiba nodded, "Okay. Tell me when either of you get hungry," Kiba sighed, staring at the girl still sleeping peacefully on the bed before him.

"He seems to care.. this... Inuzuka Kiba.." Rai said, "Why?"

"Doth thy nay remember Rai-dono?" Akamaru asked, "He hath obviously remembered the first meeting Kiba and yon Mika had," 

"The clan meeting where Kiba-san was named successor to the Inuzuka?" Rai asked.

"Exactly Rai-dono," Akamaru said, "Doth thy nay remember?"

"Nay insult my intelligence Akamaru-dono!" Rai said, "How would it be for me to forget?" Rai seemed to think for a few seconds and quickly jumped onto Kiba's lap, cuddling up against him and lying down. Akamaru chuckled as Kiba looked down in confusion at the cat now curled up on his lap.

"It seems that she likes thou Kiba-kun,"

Kiba smiled and patted Rai, tickling the cat behind the ear gently and causing her to purr. "She's not so disagreeable when she doesn't want to be," he said. Mika coughed gently and Kiba reached over to cover her with the blanket better.

"Can it be?" Rai muttered.

"Nay consider it! Akamaru said, "Kiba-kun hath more to attend to than mere primal instincts!"

Kiba frowned at Akamaru, "Yeah, you're one to talk about primal instincts Akamaru," he said sarcastically.

"What doth thy mean by that Kiba-kun?" Akamaru said with a grin, "I could inform thy mother that thy art being unruly again,"  
  
"You wouldn't!" Kiba said with mock horror. Both the ninja and the dog stared at each other solemnly for a few seconds and then began laughing.

Mika blearily opened her eyes and glared at the two, "Hey.." she said raspily, "I'm.. trying to sleep,"

"Mika!" Kiba yelled, running up to her and dropping to his knees next to her bed, "Mika! Are you okay?"

Mika smiled softly, her blue eyes still blearily looking around the room, "Well.. I was trying to sleep then I heard this horrible racket.."

Rai jumped, landing on Kiba's shoulder, "T'would be those two Mika-chan"

Mika's eyes widened as she looked at Rai on Kiba's shoulder, "Wow," she said, smiling and shaking her head, "Normally Rai doesn't go anywhere near guys... you're one lucky guy Kiba.." she said.

"Well.. I try to be," said Kiba, smiling, "It's a talent of mine,"

Mika chuckled, "You idiot..." she said softly, "Well... I'm glad if anyone.. I saw your face first when I woke.."

Akamaru chuckled softly as he saw his master's face turn a bright red.

----------------------------------------------------

Mine sighed as she threw her mask back in her locker. The mission had gone perfectly, all enemies dead, all objectives complete. She knew she should have been ecstatic about the completed mission, her squad coming through without even so much as a scratch, but she wasn't. Her mind kept drifting back to the green-clad taijutsu master and it refused to leave the subject alone.

"Mine-chan!" Umeko yelled, "Wanna go get something to eat?"

"No thanks.." Mine said softly, "I'm not really very hungry.."

"Oh... okay.." Umeko said. She noted the look in Mine's eyes and immediately knew who she was thinking of and why she had been so depressed. "Don't worry Mine!" she said. "I'm sure he'll feel the same for you that you feel for him one day!"

"Yeah..." Mine said softly, "Thanks Umeko-san..."

"Mine-chan?" a familiar voice called, "Please come to Commander Nara's house, the Rear Guard must meet,"

Mine quickly jumped up, "Okay Lee-kun!" she said loudly. She quickly ran to where Lee was waiting for her and gave him her most brilliant smile, "Let's go!" she said. The two walked down the street, both fairly silently until they reached Shikamaru's house. Mine rapped the door gently with her hand and then announced clearly, "Rear Guard Unit One-Eight-Three, ANBU Captain Shiro Mine reporting!"

"Enter," the voice said. There were several clicking sounds and Mine stepped into the door as it opened.

Lee then stepped forward, "Rear Guard Unit Two-Eight-Zero," he said, "ANBU Captain Rock Lee reporting!"

"Enter," the voice said again, and Lee stepped into the darkness.  
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Notes: Wow, I like the whole shorter chapter thing. I can probably keep up once a week updates with this. Sorry for posting on a Sunday rather than Saturday but because of events beyond my control I was unable to finish it on Saturday. I thank each and every one of you for your patience.

Eagle One: Eyes of Brown is out! Go check it out!

**REVIEWS NOT STRICTLY NECCASARY BUT HIGHLY, HIGHLY, HIGHLY (x 10) ENCOURAGED.  
(Basically, please review or I'll think no one's reading this and stop it. You don't want that do you? XP)  
((haha j/k but only sorta))  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
**Next Chapter Preview:  
_Chapter Twelve: The Split in the Leaf _

"Operation Schism will begin in fourty minutes Danzou-sama," the Ne Commander said.

"Good," Danzou said, smiling with satisfaction, "The weaklings in the ANBU will be incapable of reacting quickly enough without thier senior leadership and without the guidance of 'Top'. They are sure to fall,"

"Are all the ANBU squads away on fake missions?" another Ne Captain asked.

"Yes, they will all be away during the coup,"

"Good. Everything is falling into place perfectly,"

"We may as well begin hailing you as the Rokudaime Hokage, Danzou-sama,"

"Not yet Delta One," Danzou said with a grin as he fingered the trigger of the pistol hidden under his cloak, "You may jinx it,"

"With this sort of a plan?" Delta One said, "I believe that is hardly possible,"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Review Replies:  
(Wow I have a lot to catch up on) **

**prismdragon:** Wow! You read a lot! Thanks so much and I'm really glad you like it. It makes me really happy that it was good and I hope I can continue to meet or exceed your expectations! Once again! Thanks so much!

**HappyLaura:** Thankees! Well the story is going to involve romance more and more as the story goes on, the fighting is mainly to keep the plot moving at a reasonable pace and since most of the driving conversation in Naruto takes place in battle or in preparation for it I felt that fighting was quite an important part of it. Thanks a lot! I really appreciate it!

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**ArmorofGeddon:** I apologise if I didn't make what I meant clear in it but Naruto wasn't mocking them because they were happy. He didn't understand it, thus to him it seemed as if they WERE being wierd.

Though Naruto has improved a little, he still has the tendacy to rush headlong into battle, endangering both himself and his teammates, his recent increase in power makes it, in my opinion, a little worse than before rather than better.

The spy that Shikamaru sent acted on his own original initiative, it was not an order, it was just the spy trying to handle things on his own and it turning out horribly for him.

There is more to the Henge and the framing than meets the eye, friend.

Thank you for the review.

**Flawed Imagination:** Thank you! I'm glad you liked the fight scenes. I try to make them as discriptive as I can! Again, I'm glad you liked it!

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SPECIAL DEDICATION:  
**K.C  
the dude lebowski  
SapphireWhiteTigress **

These reviewers have been with me from the beggining. They are a true inspiration in and of themselves and help keep this fic alive with the sheer amount of kindness I have recieved.

K.C - A wonderful reviewer who makes me laugh and that makes me want to finish another chapter just to recieve another of her fantastic reviews! A truly wonderful reviewer of a rare nature. She's been with me from the beginning and thick, thin, and semi-thick and thin (yes.. that was a bad joke) she's terrific, she really is. She also read Eagle One: Eyes of Brown! Yay!

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	13. Chapter Twelve: The Split in the Leaf

Eagle One

Chapter Twelve: The Split in the Leaf

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I really don't. I mean, do you see an orange-jumpsuit clad kid running around and turning red and foxy and killing things? Do you see a Sasuke with wings that look like hands poking out of his back while wearing the really queer purple bow thing of Oro's? Of course you don't... right?  
------------------------------------------------------------

"Operation begin in thirty minutes," the Ne Captain announced, "Let us be successful in bringing a new rule to Konoha!"

"Yes," Danzou said. "We are only doing what is right,"

"Sir... but must we.. kill them all?"

"Anyone that is not with us, hinders the progress of Konoha and must be eradicated for the betterment of the entire village," Danzou said, "Years later, your children and your grandchildren will thank you for your sacrifices,"

"Well I'm not prepared to give my life," A Ne operative whispered, "After all, no one ever won a war by giving their life for a cause, they won it by making all of their enemies give thier lives for their own cause,"

"You got that right,"

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Cannon Battery to arms!" the Ne Captain roared, "Let's go! Move it!" His squad quickly mobilized, moving around the cannon and taking up their positions, "Swab!" the Captain ordered.

The Ne operative nodded, quickly ramrodding the barrel and checking inside for any sparks that may catch the charge on fire prematurely, "Check!" he yelled.

"Load!"

The Ne operative on the other side of the rammer quickly placed the explosive charge into the cannon. "Clear!" he yelled.

The rammer nodded and flipped his ramrod, using the unpadded portion to jam the powder charge down deep into the cannon, "Check!" he yelled back.

"Load Grapeshot!" the Captain ordered, "We're going to engage at extreme range!"

"Sir!" the loader yelled, he quickly picked up one of the packs of grapeshot near his feet and placed it at the mouth of the cannon, "Clear!" he yelled.

The rammer nodded again, once again forcing the charge into the barrel. Grapeshot was basically a large bag filled with large balls each about the size of a fist. It was the best for long range indirect fire and assured that no matter what the cannon crew hit, it would hit it hard. "Clear!" he yelled once the shell was in the barrel.

"Prick and Prime!" the Captain yelled.

"Sir!" the Ne operative next to him yelled, quickly running forward and slamming the pricking pin through the hole on the top of the canon and ripping a hole in the charge. The Ne operative then quickly slipped a primer into the hole, cocked the triggering mechanism back and safetied it with a length of rope. "Check!" he yelled.

"Cannon battery!" The Ne Captain said, "Stand to! We fire on signal!"

--------------------------------------------------

**29:34 **

"Hey Hitomi-chan! You cheated!" Tenten said, laughing loudly, "I never said you could tickle me!"

Hitomi smiled and happily bit into the apple she had wrested away from her older sister, "Well you never told me I couldn't Onee-chan!" she said happily.

Tenten sighed playfully and ruffled the little girl's hair, "I guess I didn't," she said, "Come on! Leave some for me!"

Hitomi winked and tossed the apple into the air. The red haired girl quickly launched a kunai upward, splitting the apple neatly into halves. Hitomi smiled and held both hands out, catching both of the slices as they fell. "Here you go Onee-chan!" she said cheerfully.

Tenten took the apple slice and smiled at her little sister, "Why thank you Hitomi!" Tenten said.

Hitomi smiled widely again and moved backward a step, the kunai landing neatly in her kunai holster again, "You're welcome Onee-chan!" she said.

------------------------------------------------------

**26:11 **

"I still say that someone should have been guarding Top!" an outraged ANBU yelled.

"Yeah!"

"Why didn't we guard him?"

Genma sighed and shook his head, "Look, we just don't have enough people to go around and Top-sensei was one of our most competent and powerful ninja... we thought he could handle himself.."

"Well what can you say now?" Another ANBU yelled, her face visibly disturbed, "He's like a father to me!"

"Of course he's like a father to you," Genma said calmly, "He's like a father to all of us, he always will.. but you know that Top-sensei would have never allowed us to give him bodyguards,"

"Still! If we asked him.."

"He would still refuse.. he'd also possibly give you push-ups and make you run around Konoha a few times," Genma finished. "We couldn't do anything about it, it's not our faults,"

"I'm.. going to miss him.."

"Yeah.. me too.."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

**21:37  
**  
"Okay Tsunade-sama! Let's get to work on that proposal to Sunagakure!" Shizune said.

"Shizune... you're really annoying you know that?" Tsunade said irately.

"Still have the hangover Tsunade-sama?"

"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't talk so loud.. it's making my head hurt,"

Shizune smiled warmly and nodded, "Okay Tsunade-sama," she whispered.

Tsunade shook her head as she stretched her ams, "Why did I even take this job?" She said softly, "It's so annoying.. there's always so much to do.. and so much to worry about..."

"Tsunade-sama, you know as well as I do that you love this job,"

"Shizune... shut up,"

"Okay Tsunade-sama!" Shizune said, sticking out her tongue. "But you know Konoha'll be in good hands when you feel fit to pass the title down,"

"I guess so," Tsunade said, "He's a little immature... but there isn't anyone I would rather have as my replacement,"

Shizune pretended to pout, frowning, "Not even me Tsunade-sama?"

"Especially not you Shizune!" Tsunade said loudly.

"Great because I wouldn't either!" Shizune said cheerfully. Tsunade shook her head and began to chuckle, the chuckling eventually becoming full laughter.

--------------------------------------------------

**18:56 **

Lee gasped for breath as he sat down, sweat pouring down his face. He smiled as he counted the number of training posts he had broken, ninety-seven, very soon he would be able to destroy a hundred in less than a minute. He groaned as his leg muscles ached but felt a sense of accomplishment. He had broken three more posts than the day before.

"Lee-kun!" A voice called, "Lee-kun! Are you over there?"

Lee smiled in the direction of the voice and waved, "Mine-chan!" he said, "What are you doing here?"

Mine looked down, her face unsure, "Well... I saw you training.. and knew that you usually miss lunch when you do training with the posts... so.. I.. uh.." she blinked as if she had done something wrong and suddenly thrust out a large bento box, the box filled to the brim with food that Mine had observed him enjoying when they had been in the same squad. "I'm sorry I didn't check with you first," Mine said awkwardly, "But I knew it would be uncomfortable to train when you're hungry so I kind of made some lunch for you.."

Lee smiled at her and nodded, "Thank you very much Mine-chan," he said politely, "It looks wonderful," he lifted the cover off of a still steaming plate of curry and shook his head, "How can I ever thank you enough for this?"

Mine blushed, looking away and smiling faintly, "I.. If you like it.. it's completely worth it.." she said.

"Well I most certainly like it Mine-chan," he said, smiling. Suddenly there was the sound of a stomach growling and Mine blushed again. "Mine-chan," Lee said, frowning, "You have not yet eaten?"

Mine stared at the ground again like a little girl caught doing something she shouldn't have and nodded, "I.. I was so busy making your food I forgot to eat.." she said softly.

"Well we can share Mine-chan!" Lee said, "There is plenty for two and it is only right since you neglected your own lunch to bring me some,"

Mine looked embarrassed and nodded, "I.. If it's okay with you Lee-kun.." she said. Her heart fluttered, she hadn't expected this in the least when she had packed the lunch but it was too amazing to be possible.

--------------------------------------------------

**15:22**

_"You're useless," _

"Weakling..."

"Why do you even try? You know you're not going to get any better..."

"Losers will always remain losers... and you are a loser..."

"I have no need of a daughter like you!"

"Onee-chan, you're the weakest person I know!"

Hinata quickly blinked back her tears and gathered her chakra. "Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho!" Hinata gasped, expelling the last of her chakra reserves from her hand and shooting a beam of chakra toward the training post. The spinning beam of chakra flew forward rapidly and struck the training post, creating a large burn mark where it impacted, and sending sparks and chunks of wood flying. Hinata squinted, barely able to keep her Byakugan activated and checked the penetration on the training post. Eight Inches. Hinata smiled and felt the veins on the side of her head shrink, the chakra keeping her kekkai genkai activated running out. Hinata tried to move but couldn't, her body stiff from chakra exhaustion. She frowned as she started to fall backward, unable to catch herself in time. Hinata grimaced and prepared for the fall but instead of hitting the hard ground like she had expected, she hit something soft.

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto said questioningly, "Are you okay?"

Hinata smiled, even the muscles in her face tired from crying so much, "I.. I'm f.. fine Na.. Naruto-kun.." she stuttered, looking away and blushing. She felt his warm arms around her and begged herself not to faint. She managed to control herself. But only barely.

"Hinata-chan.." Naruto said, "Have you been crying?"

_"Crying again? How worthless..." _

"N.. No Naruto-k.. kun! I.. I wasn't! Really!"

"Are you sure Hinata-chan.. I mean.."

_"WEAKLING!"_

"I.. I'm f.. fine N.. Naruto-k.. kun.."

_"If it happens again... just do not return."_

"I'M OKAY!" Hinata screamed.

Naruto blinked in surprise, dropping the girl as he recoiled in panic. He could have seen that coming from anyone else. Anyone. But this was Hinata, she wasn't like this.

Hinata's eyes filled with tears as she realized what she had done and she quickly opened her Heal Gate. "I.. I.. I'm s.. sorry.. please forgive m... me.." she muttered softly. She felt new power surge through her and she stood up, running away as fast as she could, the tears streaming down her face.

"HINATA-CHAN!"

Hinata kept running until she was sure she had put Naruto far behind her and collapsed in the middle of the field, her tears flowing like a river.

_"You.. are such.. a..." _

"Weakling.." she muttered softly, burying her head into her hands, the sounds of soft crying echoing into the fields.

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**12:56**

"This is so stupid.." a jounin complained. "Why the hell are we just standing out here in the hot sun?"

"Commander Danzou's orders,"

"But what are we trying to accomplish?"

"Commander Danzou's orders,"

"And what would those be?"

"Commander Danzou's orders,"

The jounin stiffened, staring at the high-collared tokubetsu jounin in annoyance, "Can't you say anything else?"

Shino turned to look at him, his face as emotionless as ever, "Yes," he said, "Shut up,"

"Both of you shut up," the jounin in charge said, "Tokubetsu Jounin Aburame, don't contradict a superior,"

"Sir,"

"And Jounin Kana, don't whine, you're acting like a regular line trooper,"

"Sir,"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

**11:09 **

"Ne! Keep your weapons clear and fire them straight," the Ne captain yelled, "We attack in Minus eleven and ten!"

"Load up those Potato-diggers and stand by for firing initiative!"

"Krag rifles on standby!" an officer ordered, "Side-loaders clear!"

"Let's get them," A Ne said, grinning to his partner, "For Commander Danzou,"

His partner nodded, smiling back, "For Danzou-sama!" he yelled, "The next Hokage of Konoha!"

"Declination: Zero-One-One!" the gunner called, "Potato-diggers, adjust accordingly!"

"Sir!" The machine gun crews called. Each gun commander clicked the adjustments on their guns, eleven to the left.

"Wind: Two clicks right!"

"Sir!" The crews called again, once again making the adjustments to their equipment.

"Riflemen! Listen up!" the Ne rifle commander yelled, "We're going to hold fire until we're absolutely sure our fire will strike. They be inferior and have inferior weaponry but they're still ANBU, they'll figure it out," he waited until he saw a nod from each of the operatives and then saluted to the near battalion sized unit, "Ne! Today is your finest hour! You will fire your rifles true and we will secure this day for Commander Danzou!"

---------------------------------------------------------

**10:10**

"Tenten!" a voice called, "Tenten!"

"Oh, hey Shizune-san,"

"Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"It's Top-sensei,"

"What about him?"

"H.. He's dead,"

Tenten froze, frowning as Shizune's words sank in, "But.. NOTHING can kill Top-sensei.."

Shizune sighed, she couldn't blame Tenten, her reaction had been the exact same and she had been the one trying to save his life in the last moments. She didn't believe that he could have died... she still expected him to jump up and demand why everyone was staring at him and demand they do push-ups, the manic twinkle still in his eye, "He is... we have to accept it.."

Tenten wanted to cry for her old teacher but she wouldn't. She knew that Top would have never tolerated it, "O.. Once during a training mission..." she suddenly blurted out, "We ran into a raiding party of Kumo nins... we didn't think we'd make it out alive... Top-sensei... ordered us to leave him there and go..."

Shizune shook her head, "Yeah... he.. he was like that..." she looked up, her eyes starting to water but refusing to release the tears into the world, "Once I saw him run straight through an enemy platoon without a weapon or armor.. just so he could save a single child for his mother..."

Hitomi stood silently, looking at both ANBU questioningly, "W.. Who's Top-sensei Onee-chan?"

"Top-sensei," Tenten said softly, "Was a hero,"

"He went just the way he would have wanted," Shizune said, "It was a big wound but he didn't cry out or gripe about it even once... he.. was so brave.."

Tenten nodded, "Lead by example..."

"Tenten, leading by example is great, but you don't have to go that far with it... Top... he was a great man..."

"He's everything a non-commissioned officer should be," Tenten said firmly, "And if I'm called upon to do the same, I will,"

"Onee-chan.." Hitomi said softly, "Don't leave me.."

Tenten smiled and knelt down, putting her arms around her sister and hugging her, "Hitomi-chan.." she said, "I promise that even if I do have to do something like that... I won't leave you alone.."

Hitomi nodded and took the locket out from where it hung on her neck, "Take this Onee-chan," Hitomi said seriously.

"Hitomi-chan.. this is yours now.."

Hitomi gave a small smile, "Yup! So you have to keep it safe okay? You have to give it back to me some day, you can't go.."

Tenten shook her head, shaking with laughter, "I really guess I can't then," she said.

--------------------------------------------------

**8:40**

"Mine-chan.." Lee said softly, breaking the uncomfortable silence and putting his food down, "I.. I apologize.."

Mine frowned and put hers down as well, quickly swallowing, "F.. For what Lee-kun?"

"I.. cannot feel the same for you as you feel for me... I.. I apologize.."

Mine's face fell and she looked away quickly, "Oh.."

"Lee-san!" a voice called, "I knew you'd be out here!"

"Sakura-chan!" Lee said, suddenly smiling brilliantly, "How are you today?"

"I'm great Lee-san!" Sakura said. Her eyes wandered over to the small girl sitting next to Lee and she smiled warmly, "Oh, hello!" she said, "Are you a friend of Lee's?"

Mine looked at Lee sadly, his face seemed to be lit with joy from just looking at the pink-haired girl and even she could see that Lee's mind and even possibly his heart was already set on the girl. "Yeah..." she said softly, "W.. We're just friends..."

"Oh," Sakura said, "Well I'm very happy to meet you,"

"Yeah..." Mine said, standing up, "Nice meeting you too..." she nodded to Lee, trying to keep her tears from prickling her eyes, "I.. I'm going to go.. bye Lee-kun,"

"Goodbye Mine-chan," Lee said pleasantly, his attention still on his pink haired angel and completely ignoring the other girl.

Mine smiled softly and walked away, her heart shattering. She quickly walked home, keeping her calm rather well but breaking apart as soon as she walked in the door. _'I'm so stupid..'_ she thought,_ 'Of course he loves someone else... after all... why would he love me.. especially when he can have her..'_. Mine sighed and sat down on her bed, "Sorry Lee-kun.." she said softly, "I can't help but love you.."

----------------------------------------------------------

**6:29**

"Quick! Run!" Kiba yelled.

"This was an idiotic idea Kiba!" Mika yelled.

"... I feel I must agree with Mika, Kiba-kun, this was a very stupid idea..."

"Hey! Who's side are you on?"

"Not thine as is apparent,"

"Akamaru, you traitor,"

"Blame not yon canine for thy stupidity,"

"Can everyone just get off my back?"

Mika sighed and shook her head, "Leave him alone guys," she said. Kiba smiled at her and barely managed to dodge the punch she sent hurtling in his direction, "Though running away from the hospital was a COMPLETELY stupid idea. What are we, genin?"

Kiba smiled, "Hey, I did this when I was a Chunin too!"

"And the last two hospitals trips as well Kiba-kun," Akamaru stated, "Perhaps it would be easiest to count the number of times thy has remained in yon hospital,"

"I can't help it that their security still sucks," Kiba said lightly. "Anyway, we're free now, so who cares?"

"Idiot," Mika said, throwing another punch in his direction that he dodged easily.

"You can't even tell me that you aren't glad you're out there," Kiba said in protest.

"Kiba.. I hate you sometimes.." Mika said with a mock glare.

"Yeah, me too," Kiba said seriously, both ninja bursting into laughter as if they were still just genin.

------------------------------------------------

**4:12**

"Tsunade-sama, Commander Danzou to see you,"

"What?" Tsunade said, "He never told me he had anything he had to discuss with me.."

"He's right outside ma'am,"

Tsunade frowned and shook her head, "Suspicious.." she muttered, "Let him in,"

"Yes ma'am,"

The door opened and Danzou walked it, a smug grin on his face, "Tsunade," he said disrespectfully, "We must talk,"

"Danzou!" Shizune yelled, "Your lack of respect..."

"Shizune stop.." Tsunade said softly, "Hold your tongue,"

"But Tsunade-sama!"

"Hold you tongue I said," Tsunade stood and turned to Danzou, her eyes meeting his, the tension in the air almost palpable. "What do you want Danzou?" she asked equally disrespectfully.

"I am here to give you an offer," he said loudly, "My Ne units are poised to kill each and every one of your precious ANBU and everyone in Konoha if necessary," he smiled again, savoring the expression of terror that slowly crept onto the Hokage's face. "The only thing you need to do to stop it however... is to turn the position of Hokage over to me.."

"Bastard!" Tsunade spat, "You think this will really get you Konoha?"

"I guarantee it," Danzou replied.

"Well, I guarantee you'll die where you stand!" Shizune yelled. She quickly flung back the sleeve of the robes she was wearing and pulled the twine of her needle shooter, racking a row of needles into the device and aiming at Danzou's neck.

"Shizune!" Tsunade yelled, "Stand down,"

"But Tsunade-sama!"

"Shizune... put it down,"

Shizune looked torn but frowned and slid her sleeve back down, once again covering the menacing needle shooter. "My my my, what a violent little disciple you have there," Danzou remarked, "Maybe you should have trained her better?"

"Shizune," Tsunade said, "Go get Kakashi,"

"But.. Tsunade-sama..."

"Shizune... if you respect or love me at all, listen to me this one time without question and go,"

Shizune opened her mouth to argue but then shut it again quickly, "Yes Tsunade-sama," she said softly. Shizune sent Danzou another hate-filled glare and quickly leapt out of the window, using her chakra to land on top of the next building over and quickly speed away.

"Good idea," Danzou said, "But bad strategy, saving your subordinate left you all alone and vulnerable..."

"You think I sent her away to save her life?" Tsunade said incredulously, "I sent her away so she wouldn't have to see what I was going to do to you!"the Slug Sannin smiled and ran forward, drawing all of her chakra to her fist.

-------------------------------------------------

**1:00**

"Final preparations!" The Ne captains screamed in unison. "Operation in minus one!"

"Keep those actions clean!" another officer yelled, "Prepare for assault action!"

"Remember it's better to aim low and hit than aim high and miss!" another officer yelled. "Don't underestimate the recoil!"

---------------------------------------------------

**0:02**

"Hey! They're coming!" the jounin said again, his voice dripping with boredom, "Hey!" he yelled to the approaching Ne's "Why can't you get here on time? What's wrong with you? We were supposed to meet here less then five minutes ago!"

Shino frowned, his keen eyes picking up the weapons the Ne were walking with. "What?" another jounin chimed in, "You get lost Ne? You're worse than I gave you credit for!" The jounin turned to the ninja on his left to say something, he was dead before he even opened his mouth. The shock barely registered on the jounin's face as the bullet hit him and blasted him back several feet.

"Ne!" the Ne commander yelled, jerking his still smoking rifle back down and gazing into the eyes of the frightened nins, "OPERATION BEGIN!"

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Notes: Sorry guys, I meant to make this chapter longer but because of random things that I really couldn't help it's going to be split into two. 100000 WORDS! This chapter has pushed my story beyond 100000 words! Once again atrributing to the fact that I indeed TALK TOO MUCH.

**PLEASE REVIEW**

Sorry but not much else, I have to go immediately and have NO TIME to do anything. Sorry.


	14. Chapter Thirteen: tPitL Pt 2

SitL Pt. 2

Shino's eyes widened and he quickly flung his bugs out, creating a solid wall that deflected most of the incoming fire, "Kikai no Tate.." he said calmly.

The commanding jounin looked startled, he couldn't believe that ANBU from their village, fellow Konoha nin, would fire on them, "How is he?" he yelled to a medic nin who had rushed over to the jounin who had taken the first bullet.

"I.. I can't stop the bleeding!" the medic screamed in panic, "I'm doing everything I can but I can't stop the bleeding! It's just like what happened with Top-sensei!"

The commanding officer's eyes grew wide and he looked away, "P.. Please.." he said softly, "Please tell me that that isn't true..."

"Pack it in," Shino said quietly, silently straining as his shield of bugs was decimated from outside, "Commander, I suggest we fall back immediately, I cannot hold my shield for long.."

"Right.." the Commander said, "Fall back..."

-------------------------------------------------------------

Lee smiled and opened his mouth to answer when suddenly he heard a loud explosion. Lee's eyes widened, some kind of explosion had torn a gigantic gash into the ANBU headquarters. He frowned and looked away, his stomach squirming in disgust, he could hear the screams of the injured ANBU even as far away as they were. "Lee!" Kiba yelled, running toward them, "What the hell was that?"

"I do not know!" Lee yelled back, another explosion rocking the air. "Where are the others?"

"Temari is in the hospital, she's not combat-ready!" Kiba yelled, "Hinata's training, Naruto's training, you and Sakura are here, I don't know where Tenten and Shikamaru are,"

"Form up the squad!" Lee ordered, "Tell Tenten-chan that I wish to speak with her immediately!"

"Sir!" Kiba yelled, quickly running back the way he came.

"What do you think it is Lee-san?" Sakura said, her eyes wide and frightened, "Has there been some kind of accident?"

"I do not think so Sakura-chan..." Lee whispered. "I have heard this sound before..."

----------------------------------------------

Tenten's eyes widened at the cracking sound that echoed through the air. Her mind instantly recognized it but she stood silently, listening for the sound again, begging, hoping, praying that it wasn't what she thought it was. The sound split the air again and Tenten's mouth dropped. "Shit!" she screamed.

Hitomi jumped at her sister's yell and spun around, her eyes landing on Tenten fearfully, "Onee-chan?"

"Model 1896 Krag-Jorgenson Carbines!" Tenten screamed, "Hitomi! Get inside! NOW!"

"But Onee-chan..."

Tenten quickly ran forward, scooping her little sister up and dumping her unceremoniously into the house, "STAY HERE!" Tenten yelled.

"Onee-chan!" Hitomi yelled, "Please don't leave!" the small girl's eyes filled with tears and she reached out to her sister, begging her to stay.

"I.. hope I can Hitomi-chan.." Tenten said, her eyes haunted. The brown haired girl quickly leapt up and ran down the path, her trademark buns slowly starting to unroll in her haste. "CAPTAIN!" She screamed.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Genma looked around, his eyes wide, "That's a cannon!" he yelled.

One of the ANBU near him just stared at him as if he was crazy, "What?"

"It's one of the weapons from the west!" Genma yelled as he quickly prepared to jump away.

"I thought those were outlawed by the Fire Lord?"

"I thought so too.."

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Danzou jumped backwards, deflecting one of Tsunade's punches easily with the hilt of his sword. Tsunade growled in annoyance and launched herself at him again, swinging her chakra-filled arm at him quickly. Danzou ducked under it, his cold black eyes still glaring into Tsunade's blue ones. "You see?" he spat, "This is why I should be Hokage! You cling to your customs and traditions and in doing so you make yourselves weak! Why should you abandon superior weapons because of the Fire Lord's ban?"

"Those same weapons you use have lost against us before!" Tsunade yelled, she dodged under Danzou's sword and sent him sprawling backward with a quick uppercut.

Danzou quickly rolled, picking himself up with speed impressive for someone his age, "Face the truth," he spat, "None of your current ninja can beat my Ne,"

"We'll see about that!" Tsunade yelled, "I've seen how they train! My ANBU will never surrender! They shall never lose!"

Danzou dropped back, dodging another punch and kicking her in the neck swiftly, "Fool... just watch all your plans and dreams be destroyed by the roots of the very village that has turned against you..."

"Konoha is still with me.." Tsunade coughed, "Taking it by force will never make it yours.." She quickly picked herself up and ran forward again, pushing the older man back even further with a flurry of attacks.

------------------------------------------------------

"Captain!" Tenten screamed as she ran toward Lee. "Captain! Western weapons! From the parade ground!"

"What?" Lee yelled back, "How can it be?"

"I don't know!" Tenten replied. "I remember the sound from our Advanced Training when we were taught by Top-sensei to identify different types of weaponry!"

"Lee!" Kiba yelled, "I have the others! They're coming as fast as they can!"

Lee nodded and looked down, his eyes squinting as he quickly thought up a plan, "Where's Hinata-chan?" he said.

"I.. couldn't find her.." Kiba said softly, "Naruto says she was crying and ran off..."

Lee sighed and rubbed his eyes, "Tenten-chan," he said.

"Captain?"

"Tenten, what are the specifics of those weapons?"

"Sir, the Model 1896 Krag-Jorgenson Carbine uses the .30-40 cartridge thus can fire to an effective range of around seven hundred meters and are very accurate, they use smokeless power and they're swing-hinge recockable,"

Lee frowned again as he calculated that in his head, "What is your furthest effective range Tenten-chan?"

Tenten paused, her face turning grim as well as she shook her head, "Two hundred meters,"

Lee paused, "I.. see.." he said softly, "So we cannot engage without taking heavy losses?"

"No.."

"I see.." Lee said again, "I cannot handle this one.." he said softly, "We must report to Commander Nara,"

"I'll go contact him and tell him we need orders," Kiba said, quickly leaping in the other direction and running away.

"Squad!" Lee ordered as the rest of their squad came into view, "Prepare for assault action!"

"Yes sir!"

--------------------------------------------------------

"DAMN IT!" Shikamaru screamed, "I'm heading out!"

"Commander Nara!" Several jounin yelled, three of them having to hold on to the enraged Elite to even keep him in place.

"Please Commander Nara!" a jounin yelled as his grip slipped from the wiry jounin's arm. "Reconsider! It's surely suicide to go there!"

"Damn it!" Shikamaru growled again, "Temari's at the hospital! Is they've taken it then she's going to be at risk because she's an ANBU nin!"

"They surely won't kill a pregnant woman will they?" the jounin said, his eyes narrowing in horror.

"This is Ne. They surely will."

"Sir..." another jounin said softly, "Not even they would..."

The first jounin shook his head sadly, "Yeah.. they would.." he said, "Get a task force together... we're retaking the hospital,"

"Yessir.."

-------------------------------------------------------

"Too damn easy!" A Ne operative yelled joyfully as he shot another fleeing chunin in the back. "Where's the fun in this?"

"You're not fighting for fun," a fellow Ne pointed out, "You're fighting for Commander Danzou's glorious reign in Konoha.."

"Aw shuddup," the Ne shot back, "What's to say that we can't have a little fun while securing Commander Danzou's reign?"

"You're sick.." the Ne replied, jerking the slide action of his rifle back and aiming at another fleeing ninja.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Orders in, Captain!" Kiba yelled as he ran back, "We're to meet up with fragmented members of the eight and fifth squads and retake the hospital,"

"What?" Tenten yelled in horror, "Temari's in the hospital!"

"Damn it!" Naruto yelled, "What's going on?"

"Okay, calm down squad," Lee said, his voice instantly cutting away the noise. "This is going to be the order.. Tenten up front, then myself, Naruto, Sakura, and Kiba,"

"Yes sir!" Tenten yelled, quickly moving to her position in line.

"Masks on!" Lee roared. He quickly drew the Eagle mask that he had been carrying with him and took a deep breath, fixing it over his face and giving himself to the darkness.

Tenten quickly slipped on her Wolf mask and nodded to Kiba who was adjusting a Dog mask onto his face. "Let's move it!" she yelled, "ANBU Squad Fifteen, Eagle Squad, Mobilize!"

"KONOHA!" the veteran squad members yelled as they quickly ran down the street, the two newer ANBU keeping up easily.

-------------------------------------------------------

Genma quickly rushed down the street, his hair whipping manically as he threw himself to the side to barely avoid a bullet, "Lee!" he yelled, "Lee! Tenten! Kiba! Temari! Where are you?" Genma grimaced and ducked as a large hole was blown into the wall he was hiding behind.

A masked ANBU motioned to him and pointed in the other direction, "Get to the hospital," he ordered, "Eagle One and Squad Eagle are on assault detail,"

"Thanks Temp Three," Genma replied thankfully, "I owe you one,"

Tempest Three nodded to him and saluted, "Just get that damn cannon down," he said, "Our demolitions specialist, Temp Six is gone on a mission with half of our squad and the only other one who's even close to being qualified in demolitions to that level is you," Genma nodded and ran away, tiny gouts of dirt popping upward as bullets flew near his feet. "Damn.." Tempest Three whispered softly, his long scythe shaking, "We're not supposed to feel fear damn it..." Tempest Three closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out shakily. "Konoha!" he yelled, running out from behind his cover and running straight toward the Ne operatives, "Eat this you bastards!" he yelled.

"Lee!" Genma yelled, flipping to the side and neatly avoiding another bullet, "Lee!"

A masked ANBU turned and stared at him quizzically, his black eyes confused, "Genma?" the ANBU said incredulously, "What are you doing here?"

Genma looked down, his eyes downcast and his face grim, "One moment please sir," he said softly. He silently drew a scroll, pumping his chakra into it. With a pop, a familiar white mask appeared, Genma silently strapping the Dog mask on and fixing his eyes back upon his old captain, "Eagle Six, Retired, Demolition Specialist, Squad Fifteen!" he yelled, briskly saluting, "Reporting in to Eagle One, squad leader of ANBU Squad Fifteen!"

Eagle One nodded and returned the salute, "Report Eagle Six," he said, "What are you doing here?"

The retired Eagle Six swallowed, his eyes grim, "Sir, they have a cannon up in the roof of that building," he said, pointing to the building in question, "It can fire on any position in Konoha from there..."

Eagle One frowned, his mind racing once more. He was never a weapons or demolitions specialist, he had never seen nor had been trained to deal with this, "Options?" he asked.

"Allow me to lead a small section and disable the cannon," the retired Eagle Six replied, "One or two people at most,"

"Denied.." Eagle One said softly, "Our orders are to retake the hospital at full strength. They are straight from Commander Nara himself,"

Eagle Six blinked in surprise and stared at the retired Eagle Six, "A.. cannon?" he said haltingly, "I think I remember Top-sama saying something about that..."

"He did," a voice behind them said. Shikamaru quickly walked up, the green bars on his armor that marked him as an Elite glowing dully in the sunlight. "Everything accounted for, Eagle One?"

"Sir!" Eagle One yelled, saluting crisply, "Squad Fifteen, Squad Eagle, prepared for assault movement!"

"Good," Shikamaru said, "Blue flare is the signal,"

"Yes sir,"

---------------------------------------------------------------------

"KAKASHI!" Shizune screamed, "KAKASHI!"

The silver haired jounin looked up from his book lazily, his uncovered eye slowly landing on the woman in front of him, "Yo," he said, "How.."

"It's Tsunade-sama!" Shizune screamed, "Tsunade-sama is in combat with Danzou!"

Kakashi's one uncovered eye widened in horror, the orange book dropping from his hand, "What?" he said, "Where?"

"Her office!" Shizune yelled, "We have to hurry!"

"Kakashi-sensei?" a genin said softly, "You dropped your book..." Kakashi simply glanced at it and looked back at Shizune, asking her a series of rapid-fire questions. The three genin in the cell stared at each other in amazement. Nothing could have pressed the danger of the news that Shizune had brought more than that to the genin, they had never seen Kakashi so frightened and the abandonment of his precious book just served to emphasize the seriousness of their situation.

Kakashi frowned and he quickly drew a kunai, sending it flying less than a foot from a genin's face, an audible ping being heard as the bullet ricocheted off of the kunai, "Go!" he yelled at Shizune, "I'll clear up this area and go to the Hokage's office,"

-----------------------------------------------------------------

"ANBU!" Shikamaru yelled, "CHARGE!"

"You heard 'em Eight Squad!" an ANBU Captain yelled, "Hit it!" He motioned for all of them to run forward and jumped out of the small ditch he had been hiding in. He only managed to get about seven steps before he was scythed down by the Ne operatives' accurate fire. Eagle One gasped and turned away, the entire squad having been decimated by the gunfire before even getting within striking range of the enemy.

"Damn," Shikamaru muttered, "Squad Six,"

"Sir?"

"Separate into two detachments and try a pincer attack!" Shikamaru roared, "Squad Fifteen,"

Eagle One perked up, sending Shikamaru another crisp salute, "Sir,"

"Attack from the back when you see the pincer on the left move in!"

"Yes sir," Eagle One said, "EAGLE SQUAD!" he bellowed, "MOVE OUT! Everyone! On me!" the rest of the squad quickly fell in behind him, their hands shaking imperceptibly from the horror they had seen happen to Squad Eight.

"Contact!"A Ne operative yelled, "Right side!"

"Turn base of fire ten degrees right!" the commander yelled, "They're going to try charging us again!"

"Sir! Contacts to the left as well!" Another operative yelled.

"They're trying to pinch us!" the commander yelled, "Spread out the direction of fire! Tell some of the defenders in the back to get up here and help us!"

"Yes sir!"

Eagle One quickly stowed away the binoculars that he had been watching the back of the base with. Several machine gun and half of the regular riflemen had moved out of the back of the building, leaving a blind spot that would be susceptible to attack, "Eagle Squad," he whispered, "Move out on command,"

The squad nodded, each turning their eyes away and taking a deep breath as the sounds of the rifles boomed. "Yes sir!" they all yelled.

Eagle Two's eyes widened and she quickly flipped to the left, the bullet screaming through where she had been only seconds before. "Enemy contact!" she yelled, "Opponents have begun defensive fire!"

"Keep going!" Eagle One ordered, "Commander Nara's orders still hold!"

A small gout of earth popped in front of Eagle Six as a bullet struck near him, Eagle Six quickly drew chakra into his fist and compacted it, "RASENGAN!" he yelled. He could see the Ne operative aiming again, and knew that he would have to be fast. He hurriedly drew the chakra in front of him and held it there as he ran, praying that it would work. Eagle Six gasped as a bullet struck the Rasengan soundly, the bullet being ripped apart by the chakra flow inside the Rasengan and being crushed.

Eagle Seven quickly ducked, a hail of bullets screaming over him. He knew that the gunner would quickly readjust his weapon and he quickly leapt to the side, the bullets once against streaming incredibly near him. "Eagle Five!" Eagle One yelled, "Run into the bullets!"

"What?" Eagle Five yelled.

Eagle Six nodded however, his training kicking in, "I'll do it Captain!" he yelled, his azure eyes set firmly, "I trust you,"

Eagle One smiled and nodded, "Eagle Six, run into the stream of bullets and wait for my order!"

"YES SIR!"

Eagle One smiled, Top had done his job right until the end. Eagle Two and Eagle Seven both looked at him, their eyes questioning, "Eagle Formation Bravo!" he yelled, "Flash!"

"Yes sir!" Eagle Seven yelled, quickly reaching for a flash bomb while still barely avoiding the hail of enemy fire. Eagle Six quickly ran in front of him, his face twisted in horror as the bullets flew towards him but continuing to run regardless. "Eagle Two!" Eagle Seven yelled, "Flash up!" he quickly hurled the flash bomb upward over the still running Eagle Six's head.

"Check!" Eagle Two yelled, swiftly running toward Eagle Six. Eagle Six grunted in surprise as suddenly Eagle Two jumped on his back, using his shoulders as a springboard and leaping even further into the sky. Eagle Six fell backwards, the power of Eagle Two's leap pushing him down, and another hail of bullets scythed cleanly over his head. Eagle Two flipped once, evading a bullet and aimed carefully. She quickly threw the flash bomb, striking one of the Ne gunners directly on the face. There was a bright flash of light and every Ne operative in the back of the building was suddenly blinded. "Flash success!" Eagle Two yelled, landing gracefully onto her feet.

"Eagle Squad! Move in!" Eagle One yelled, "Try to incapacitate rather than kill!"

Eagle Two nodded and quickly summoned a staff, striking a Ne operative on the face and knocking him unconscious. Eagle Seven merely ripped the rifle out of a Ne operative's hands and smashed it into his face. Eagle Six knocked a Ne operative unconscious and spun around, his eyes landing on another Ne operative who was already starting to pull the trigger of his rifle. Eagle Two gasped and flipped out a kunai, desperately trying to intercept the bullet but failing, the rifle booming as the bullet left the barrel.

"SHUGO!" a voice called out, a small figure wearing an Eagle mask dropping in front of Naruto, "Hakke Rokuju Yonsho!" Eagle Four quickly straightened up, shooting a thin beam of chakra from her fingertip and blowing the bullet away, the stream of chakra continuing until it slammed into the action of the weapon, destroying the gun from the inside. Another few seconds later, the Ne operative slumped to the ground, several tenketsu on his neck now closed.

"Hinata-chan!" Eagle Six yelled happily, "You saved me!" he ran forward and hugged her tightly, "Thank you," he said softly as he hugged her. Naruto blinked as suddenly he felt the girl toppling backwards. He caught her gently and shook her, "Hinata-chan?"

Eagle Two turned and chuckled as she saw the still body of her friend, "She's just fainted, she'll be fine in a bit,"

"What'd I do?" Eagle Six said softly, "Did I hurt her somehow?"

Eagle Two turned to Eagle Seven and shook her head, "Maybe someday you'll know just how much..."

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"ANBU have taken back much of the area in front of the building!" a Ne operative yelled, "What are our orders sir?"

The Ne Commander grinned sadistically, his black eyes shining, "How many ANBU nins and other undesirables is this hell-hole hosting at the moment?"

"Nine ANBU with major wounds that are on intensive care, three ANBU with lesser wounds but unable to fight and... and one other ANBU..." the Ne operative replied.

"Kill them," the commander said.

"But sir..."

"I said kill them all.." the commander said softly, "Kill each, and every one of those ANBU bastards... don't leave a single one alive.."

"But they can't fight back.." the Ne operative said, frowning, "It wouldn't be right to.."

The Ne commander chuckled evilly, shaking his head, "Right? Oh no... WE will tell you what right and wrong are from now on... you just obey..."

"Yes sir.." the Ne operative said, his eyes burning with anger, "So how should we go about murdering these men sir?"

"You said nine were in intensive care?"

"Yes sir, they had been injured in a mission,"

"Pull them off of it,"

The Ne operative shook his head, "You must be joking," he said, "You really mean for us to kill these men like animals?"

"They've chosen the wrong side. They must be held culpable,"

"And the others? The ones that are not on life support?"

"Kill them in whatever manner you see fit,"

"There is one thing.." the Ne operative said desperately, "A single ANBU nin is in perfect shape, there's just one thing the matter.."

"And that is?"

"She's pregnant,"

The commander shook his head and chuckled softly, "What's the girl's name?"

"She's ANBU Level One, Nara Temari,"

"The wife to ANBU Elite Nara Shikamaru?"

"I am under the impression that he is the only ANBU Elite with the name of Nara..."

"Don't get insubordinate on me," the Ne commander growled, "Or you'll get the same treatment they will..."

"Yes sir..." the Ne operative said bitterly.

"Now get to it!" the Ne commander yelled, "Don't just sit here and stare at me like I'm about to do some kind of trick to amuse you!"

The Ne operative nodded and walked out of the room, quickly heading to the room he knew the pregnant woman to be in. He frowned, the woman may be an ANBU nin, but not even she deserved to die like this. He opened the door and stepped in, gently shaking the bundle under the sheets of the bed, "Quick now..." he whispered, "Get up!"

"Already up!" Eagle Three yelled, her mask already positioned over her face. The Ne operative jumped in surprise and turned, the heavy metal of the fan thudding heavily into his side, breaking his ribs and hurling him out of the window. Eagle Three smiled and stepped away from the wall where she had been hiding, she quickly lifted the bedsheets and lifted out her cloak, once more draping it around her shoulders, "I need to get out of here..." she murmured, "They're not going to hold back..."

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Notes: -insert mandatory comment about slow update time here- Sorry for no update last week guys, kinda took a week off due to massive writer's block at an inopportune moment. Apologies all around! I REALLY have to get going now so byes!

Review Replies:

ACK! Got to go!


	15. Chapter Fourteen: The Split Grows

Eagle One

The Split Grows

Disclaimer: Yeah, it's on the first, second, and basically every chapter leading up to this..  
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Eagle Two grimaced as a bullet sliced her cheek. She quickly ducked and spun, the blade of her kunai passing easily though the Ne operative's leg. The Ne operative jumped backward, once more trying to bring her into his sights. Eagle Seven was prepared however, his hands flashing in the air as he slashed the Ne operative's throat. "Eagle One!" Eagle Two yelled, "We've cleared the lower level! Any orders from here on sir?"

"Eagle Two," Eagle One said, "Take Eagle Seven and Eagle Four and clear the top floor, myself and the rest of the squad will handle the second floor, use extreme caution,"

"Yes sir!" Eagle Two yelled, saluting briskly. She motioned to the other members of the squad and they quickly ran up the stairs. "Line up for door entry!" Eagle Two ordered, "We need to get in fast and we need to neutralize everyone before they know what hit them," the squad nodded and Eagle Two motioned to Eagle Four, "Four, use your kekkai genkai to check on the other side of that door, tell me if there are any enemies that could directly attack us on entry,"

Eagle Four nodded and activated her bloodline, the veins on the side of her head bulging and growing. "Eagle Two, potential targets to zero-three-two degrees and three-four-one degrees, if we insert quickly enough, we SHOULD be able to take them out before they can alert others or react,"

Eagle Two nodded, "Then let's go,"

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Eagle Five POV:

I'm scared.

It's almost overwhelming. I can't breathe. This is undoubtedly the most horrible mission I've ever been on. I hate it. Everywhere we go, the Ne operatives have set up barriers and the peaceful hospital I once knew is gone. Blood, it's everywhere. I think I must be drowning in it. I can't breathe. "Eagle One.." I said softly. "Why... why did they do this?"

Lee's eyes are cold as ice through the holes in his mask, I cannot recognize him as the gentle boy that had first promised his life to me simply by looking at them. It's terrifying. "Orders.." he said quietly, "Orders are why they kill,"

"But what kind of orders could justify this?" I cried, "What could..."

Lee.. no, Eagle One's hands shook, he looked down and for a moment, I could feel immense sadness pouring from him, "Orders do not need to be justified, Eagle Five.." he said, "It is not our role to question them.. only to follow them,"

I look down and shudder once more. My feet are covered in blood and the ANBU uniform I'm wearing is streaked with it. Even as an experienced medical ninja, I have never experienced anything near this. A door, we're going through it. Lee's counting down.. Zero! We're in. Dodge! That was close, the Ne operative almost hit me. I draw a kunai and slash wildly, not even completely certain of my target anymore, just slashing to live while knowing the other person must be feeling the same. Warm liquid hits me, undoubtedly blood.

"Eagle Five!" a figure yells. I slash at him. Enemies, enemies all around. Kill. Kill so that I may live.

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General POV:

Eagle One ducked, barely avoiding the swinging kunai. "Eagle Five!" he screamed, "Eagle Five! Stop it!" Eagle Five twisted around, throwing several shuriken at him. There was no sense to her attack pattern, it was jumbled, random, without reason. Eagle One jumped, avoiding all of the weapons and rolled, the kunai coming within millimeters of his neck. "Eagle Five! Stand down!" he yelled.

"Eagle Five!" Eagle Six yelled, "Calm down! It's battle delusion! We're not your enemies!"

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Eagle One POV:

I've seen this before.

It happens to the best. Battle fatigue, battle delusion, battle madness, it's called many things. In essence, it is where a person's mind is frightened beyond logical thought. It has happened to me before as well. There is no weakness in it. I know the feeling.

As ANBU, we are not supposed to possess the luxury of feelings. We're supposed to be ruthless killers, nothing more. Our allegiance is to be to Konoha, nothing or no one else, but that is impossible; even I myself, an ANBU Captain cannot squelch his emotions that completely. She's moving again, stumbling in her haste to attack her enemy. I duck, the kunai whistling past my head, and I attempt to back her against the wall, it fails, she's smarter than that it seems, even under the haze of her confusion. I can't help but be proud, even in these circumstances, she's so incredibly strong, I know I made the right choice when I set my heart upon her.

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Eagle Five POV:

What am I doing? Killing. But for what cause? Why? It doesn't matter anymore. Kill. Everyone is an enemy. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. Why can't I breathe?

"Eagle Five! Calm down!" a voice orders. I hadn't been aware that I had uttered my last thoughts aloud. Irrelevant. Kill. Kill or Die; the only two options in my new life. I lunge forward at him again and I curse his speed, nothing but air residing where I plunge my blade. Can't someone help me? Where are my friends? Do they care? Have they left me on my own to die? I can't be sure. I'm sure I deserve it.

"Eagle Five!" another voice yells, "Eagle Five, you need to stop! Stop it right now!" I take a swing at him as well, the blade sliding gracefully through the air yet hitting nothing. I scream with rage and run forward, swinging madly. It can't end like this. I won't die yet. I can't breathe.. please.. someone save me... please...

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Eagle One POV:

I effortlessly dodge her kunai again, but at this rate, she is more of a danger to herself than me. I'm not frightened by her, in her current mental state, she isn't thinking, her movement erratic. What do I value more? What is greater in my life? My duty, my nindo, my mission; or my love, the one whom I pledged my life to? It is all confusing, I cannot understand. Anything else, anyone else, and the decision may have been slightly easier, slightly less burdening, but she, she makes everything difficult. I have made up my mind, I know what I have to do.

"Sakura-chan!" I yelled as I rip off the Eagle mask covering my face. "Sakura-chan! Calm down!"

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Lee POV:

The emotions flow back. I remember who I am; I remember what I must do. She swings at me again and I dodge, begging her to regain her senses. She does not. This is it. All I can think of to do.

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General POV:

Eagle Five lashed out with the kunai again, her tears falling softly onto the ground. Her mind was still in chaos, nothing made sense. She just swung her weapon, not knowing or caring what, if anything, it hit.

Lee took a deep breath and instead of dodging it, stepped closer to it, the kunai slashing soundly into his stomach. Eagle Five shuddered as she felt the blood trickling onto her hands but stabbed harder, the kunai finally penetrating the armor he wore completely and burying into him. "S.. Sakura-chan.." he said softly. He reached up and kindly took off her ANBU mask, his eyes shining compassionately onto her. She looked at him in disorientation, her emerald eyes darting around as if to search for more enemies. Lee smiled again and hugged her, burying her head into his shoulder and holding her tightly, "Sakura-chan.." he said, gently holding her sobbing form, "Please.. calm down.."

Sakura looked up at his face, then looked down, the kunai clattering from her grasp in shock. "L.. Lee-san.." she said softly, "W.. What have I done?"

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Sakura POV:

No.. I can't have. Of all the people who could have stood in my way then... why.. why him? I collapse onto him in horror, reaching blindly for the bandages in my rucksack.

Even as horrid as I feel, his touch relieves me; somehow, I can breathe again.

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General POV:

"We should press on," Lee said softly, "We must go and rescue Eagle Three..."

Sakura nodded, her eyes still on the wound she inflicted, "L.. Lee-san.." she said softly, "A.. Are you going to be okay?"

Lee nodded, "You healed it well Sakura-chan.." he could see the uneasiness in her eyes and gave her another small smile, "Let us put this behind us,"

"Ready to move when you are Lee," Eagle Six said.

Lee quickly slipped his mask on, the cold surface in sharp contrast with the temperature of his face, "Okay," Eagle One said, "Door breaching maneuver in five seconds..."

"Belay that order Eagle One," Commander Nara said, placing his hand gently on the ANBU Captain's shoulder.

"Sir?"

Commander Nara nodded and pointed back toward the door, "I've already alerted the elements of your squad that were fighting in the upper levels. You are to report to the Hokage's Tower and try to retake it... these orders are directly from the top,"

"Sir, but what about Eagle Three?"

"I'll get her myself," Commander Nara said, one glance from the tall Elite stayed any argument that could have been uttered, "I have a responsibility here..."

"Y.. Yes sir.." Eagle One muttered, looking away, "We will do as you ask..."

"Good," Commander Nara replied, "Now hurry, they need you at the assault area,"

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"There's no other course of action," the new Commander of the ANBU Forces declared, "We have no alternative.."

"But sir, even if we managed to charge from cover to cover, casualties will be massive..."

The ANBU Commander halted, his steely black eyes halting menacingly onto the ANBU Elite's face, "Have you forgotten the Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokusho Butai's main reason for existence?"

"To protect the Hokage.."

"Exactly.." the Commander replied, "No matter our casualties, we MUST protect our Hokage. Nothing else matters," the Commander nodded and then walked away, his ANBU cloak billowing around his legs.

An ANBU Elite watched him walk away, the disdain obvious on his face, "So.. that much of the command structure was taken away..."

"Yes.." another ANBU soldier replied, "If the highest ranking Elite remaining is part of the ANBU Interrogation Squad..."

"This will end tragically.." the first Elite finished, "We may not survive this assault.."  
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"Eagle Six! Sir! Where are you going?"

The retired Eagle Six glared at the small recruit that was following him. The recruit was very small by ANBU standards, barely tall enough to walk without his ANBU cloak dragging across the ground, he was a new recruit, having been accepted in the ANBU Selection Exams a year prior. "Recruit," the retired Eagle Six barked, "Didn't I tell you to stop following me? You're supposed to be evacuating the children and elderly!"

"But sir! I can fight! Let me prove it! I can fight!" the recruit yelled, his eyes burning with determination, "If you let me fight sir, you will never regret it!"

"If I let you fight today.." the retired Eagle Six said haltingly, "You will either die.. or you will curse me for the rest of your life..."

"But sir.."

"Evacuating the young and elderly is a task of the ANBU as well," the retired Eagle Six said, "It was the task assigned to you... it is your DUTY as an ANBU soldier, to see that it is completed,"

"Sir! I may be young, but I'm just young not helpless!"

Anger flashed in the old ANBU soldier's eyes, he had seen many recruits with the exact same amount of fire and determination, and he had seen them die on the battlefield, killed by their own foolhardiness. "If you are not helpless, go assist those who are!"

"WHY WON'T YOU LET ME FIGHT?"

The retired Eagle Six shook his head and pushed past the new ANBU soldier, "You've never killed before.. have you?"

"Not yet sir, I haven't had to, but I could if I had to!"

"There's nothing worse," the retired Eagle Six replied, "There's nothing worse than knowing that you took someone's life... there's no glory in it... in fact, that's why I quit.. I'm tired.. I just can't kill anyone.. not after all I've seen.."

The recruit frowned and closed his mouth, his eyes clouding momentarily, "Then where are you going, sir?"

"Don't get me wrong," the retired Eagle Six replied, "I'm not willing to kill anymore.. but I have no qualms about giving my life.."

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"ANBU!" the ANBU commander yelled, "What is our motto?"

"Die so others may live!" the massed ANBU soldiers roared, "No retreat! No surrender! Death before defeat!"

"I am pleased to have served with every single one of you!" the commander yelled, "Konoha shall thank us for what we do today!" he saluted at them all and nodded, "Dismissed!" he yelled.

The ANBU slowly moved out of formation, coming together into their respective squads again, "So basically what he was saying..." Tempest Three started, "Is that we're probably all going to die, but we'll be awfully proud of ourselves in the slim chance we actually survive? Did I interpret that correctly?"

"Pretty much," Tempest Four said, "But you didn't have to be so cynical about it, some of those little recruits look like they're about to start crying,"

"Temp Four and Three, would you hold on?" Tempest One snapped, "This isn't the time to act superior,"

"Ma'am," Tempest Three replied, "I've already taken some of them down, they aren't exactly as strong as you expect them to be,"

"Not everyone has abilities like yours," Tempest One replied, "And even you would have died in a frontal assault.."

Tempest Three looked away, "Yes Ma'am.." he said, "I'm... I'm sorry..."

"Just think before you talk..."

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"Captain.." Eagle Two said seriously, "What is the chance we'll survive?"

"Low... maybe none.." Eagle One replied, "But it is our duty to fight regardless..."

"Duty? What does DUTY mean?" a nearby ANBU ninja muttered as he opened and closed his hands nervously, "What does DUTY mean if we all die?"

"That is treasonous thought..." Eagle One said, squinting at the blade of the kunai in his hand and checking its sharpness, "If you have time for such mental reproaches, make sure your weapons are in order,"

"Lee-san..." Eagle Five whispered. The pink-haired ANBU ninja walked up behind her captain and slipped his rough hands into her own soft ones, "I.."

"Eagle Five.." Eagle One said, looking away, only scarcely able to utter the words he had to, "Not now.."

"What?" Eagle Five said incredulously, "Lee-san.."

"Captain.." Eagle Four said softly, "I think... we may disregard procedure... maybe just this once..." She looked her squad leader in the eyes pleadingly.

Eagle One looked around into the eyes of his squad; the fear was evident in their eyes. Eagle Seven A was nervously scratching Eagle Seven B, his brown eyes focused on the ground in front of him but seeming to slide in and out of focus. Eagle Six was glaring silently at the ground, muttering to himself and clenching his fists; he noticed the squad leader glancing at him and nodded solemnly. Eagle Four was panting heavily; she had started the battle while in the throes of severe chakra exhaustion and the strain on her body was obvious, her normally lavender eyes extremely bloodshot. Eagle Two was the most composed out of all of the squad, at least visibly, but having been on the same team for several years, he knew her mannerisms perfectly; noting her nervousness from the subtle way her hands shook and the way she absentmindedly pulled at her left armguard. "Squad... stand down.." he muttered. He slipped his mask off and took a deep breath, the warmth returning to his mind.

"Captain Eagle One! What are you doing?" a voice snapped, "Get your mask on right this..."

"Leave them alone.." Tempest One said softly, "In fact... Squad Tempest... stand down..." Tempest One slowly slipped off her black ANBU mask, her brown hair slowly unraveling from the knot she had tied it in.

"Hey Kiba..." Tenten said, "Do you remember our graduation?"

"Heck yes," Kiba said, grinning wolfishly, "If I remember correctly, Hinata ate more than anyone else there," he nudged his old teammate playfully, smiling at the deep red blush that appeared on her face.

"I.. I did not Kiba-kun!" Hinata said loudly, "I.. In fact, if I remember correctly, you fell face-first into your soup!"

"Hey! That was on purpose!" Kiba said, "There's a subtle art to falling into soup!"

"Yeah," Tenten said sarcastically, "You have to have Genma trip you at just the right time,"

Kiba blinked and chuckled, "Yeah well, we planned it ahead of time?"

"Lee-san.." Sakura said softly. "We may DIE... I think..."

Lee nodded, "Many of us, most certainly will," he said. Sakura's expression was that of shock as Lee quickly pulled her to him and hugged her again, much like the hug that had saved her from her battle shock in the hospital, "There is no use denying it... and there is no use fearing it... if it must happen; it will, nothing we do can change this. The only thing we can do, is to celebrate what we have today.. without worrying about tomorrow.."

"Or thirty minutes later," Kiba interjected.

Hinata sat down, her legs barely capable of supporting her anymore. Questions ran through her mind; was it better to confess her feelings to the one of her dreams or take her feelings with her to the grave? Was it better to have a chance and have that chance dashed in her face; or better to have no chance at all? "Remember the speech?" Tenten said dryly, "The one from Ibiki... I mean... COMMANDER Ibiki?"

"Yeah," Kiba said, "We really believed it then, didn't we?"

"I did not," Lee said, "I had heard similar, several times before.. but I had hoped dearly that it would hold true this time..."

Hinata smiled and looked away, "It was a very nice dream wasn't it?"

"It was.."

"Well.." Naruto said determinedly, "I don't plan on dying just yet! I haven't become Hokage yet!"

"Idiot.." Kiba said, his voice was gruff but did not possess the amount of menace that was more natural, "You complete and total idiot..."

"What?" Naruto said, "Don't you think I can pull it off?"

"It's not our lives we're worried about..." Naruto's eyes widened as he suddenly realized what Kiba was trying to tell him, "We're worried about the lives of our friends.. our brother and sister ANBU, and especially the members of our squad..."

Naruto looked away in embarrassment but turned back around as he felt a hand landing lightly on his shoulder. He blinked in surprise at Hinata as she blushed, "A.. A.. Ah... N.. Naruto-k.. kun, d..don't be embarrassed... it.. it is difficult at first..."

"Thanks Hinata-chan.." Naruto said softly, "But more importantly, are you okay?"

Hinata began to poke her fingers together again awkwardly as she felt the intensely blue stare of her love shifting over her body; checking for injuries, "Y.. Y.. Yes N.. Naruto-k.. kun," she stuttered; she quickly dropped into a bow, her face beet red, "I.. I want to apologize a.. about this.. this morning.."

"What happened?" Naruto asked cautiously, "Can you tell me?"

"I..." Hinata started. "Well.. I..."

Naruto frowned; it was obvious that Hinata didn't want to tell him whatever it was that had disturbed her so much. "It's okay Hinata-chan," he said, "Forget about it," Hinata opened her mouth to say something but faltered slightly. Naruto understood, "Really Hinata," he said, "It's okay,"

"ANBU! FORM UP!" a loud voice called, "PREPARE FOR YOUR FINEST HOUR!" Lee nodded to his squad, each of them silently slipping on the masks, each wondering how much was left unsaid, "Someday, someday soon, children will celebrate this day and lesser men shall ask you what it was like, and you, you will have the pride, the privilege, the honor, to say, 'I fought that day, I WAS THERE, where were you?'"

"I am honored to serve alongside you.." Eagle Two muttered solemnly, her mind drifting back to the day of her graduation and the speech they had all carried with them from that day, "I know you will live up marvelously to the ancient promise of your forebears,"

Eagle One lined up alongside her, his eyes dark and grim, "The promise made and sealed in blood..."

"Thank you my soldiers, thank you in advance from every man, woman and child within these walls, thank you for being the best," Eagle Seven A chimed in, his hands shaking visibly.

"A.. And," Eagle Four said quietly, "And thank you for choosing to use your abilities, not to further your own selfish goals, but to save and love, to help and assist..."

"You are the best Konoha has," the entire squad muttered, the mantra ringing through their heads, "I honor... each.. and every one of you.."

"ANSATSU SENJUTSU TOKUSHO BUTAI!" the Commander yelled, "FORWARD TO VICTORY OR DEATH!"

Eagle One quickly jumped over the cover they had been hiding behind, the blood-chilling sight of several hundred rifles being as a harbinger to the slaughter to come. "EAGLE SQUAD!" he yelled, "UP AND OVER!"

"Squad Tempest!" Tempest One yelled, "Die so others may live!"

The shouts echoed down the field, the long stretch of no-man's land between the Hokage's tower and the cover before it acting as the most intimidating scene many, if not all, of the ANBU had ever seen; their own city, fighting against them. The shouts of the ANBU rang down the field, small and insignificant, but only for a scant moment. The Ne replied with gunfire.

**"I now stand here and look down at you all, some faces new, some old,"**

Eagle Four quickly spun, the bullet she had just barely dodged whistling into the side of the ninja behind her. Eagle Two quickly spun three kunai upwards, the bullets clanging against them and ricocheting away, a single bullet however, managed to find its way through, striking her cheek and cutting it deeply. The ANBU soldiers continued to run, men dropping, crawling, rising, and falling again. It was chaos, sheer chaos; yet not a single man looked back. Eagle Six tripped, skidding several feet. He rolled quickly to his left, dust exploding in gouts from where he had been sheer moments earlier.

Eagle Seven A was the first to reach the first obstacle, a large wall that had been designated the first rally-point. His back thudded against the wall heavily, his daggers clanking loudly off of his combat rigging. He looked along the wall and saw Eagle Two hiding nearby, busy attending to a nasty cut on her cheek. "Eagle Two!" he yelled loudly, "Eagle Two!"

Eagle Two looked up, her eyes blurry, "Eagle Seven A!" she yelled, "Where's the rest of our squad?"

"I don't know!" Eagle Seven A screamed back, "Do you think that they made it?"

"I don't.." Eagle Two's remark was cut off as suddenly a roaring came from a building next to the Hokage's tower. Suddenly, the wall they had been hiding behind blew into rubble, the shrapnel raining all around them, choking them, blinding them. Eagle Two clawed at her eyes, attempting to regain her vision, her ears ringing. "Eagle Seven A!" she yelled, or she attempted to yell, "Eagle Seven A!" another blast knocked her off her feet again, her ears bleeding slightly from the overpressure, "Eagle Seven A! Report!" she ordered.

Eagle Six skidded to a halt, quickly leaping sideways and knocking Eagle Two down, both of them being missed by a small volley of bullets but only by the slimmest of margins.

**"But know this, as long as there is a single drop of brave blood in Konoha, the ANBU will exist,"**

Several volleys of projectiles whistled through the air; one of the bullets striking an unfortunate ANBU ninja. He let out a muffled shout of pain and fell, his body giving way under him. His eyes were fearful as his hands scrabbled down to the wound in his chest. He was no medical specialist but he could tell that it was serious, maybe even fatal.

"Hey, just relax buddy!" a medical ANBU yelled as he slid next to his dying comrade. He quickly put his hands on the wound, unraveling several bandages as well. "Just keep looking at me!" he ordered, "Keep looking at me! Don't you dare close your eyes!" The ANBU ninja gasped in air gratefully as his lungs began to work properly again, he kept his eyes trained on the brown eyes of the medical ninja before him, "We're almost there! We're almost there!" the medical ANBU yelled, "Just hold on!"

Another explosion blew dirt and debris over both medic and patient. The medic froze, his hands shaking as he continued to apply chakra and bandages.

He did not leave.

"Okay! We're almost done, all I have to do is.." the medical ANBU began. Suddenly a bullet tore through his neck, killing him before he even hit the ground, dying while attempting to save someone who he must have known was doomed

**"In essence, the ANBU is the combined fighting spirit of all of Konoha,"**

"Sir..." a reconnaissance specialist said slowly, "We've lost too many men.."

"How close are we to the tower?"

"Close enough for it to be a possibility, far enough for it to be a massacre," the recon. specialist replied, "Are you willing to have the casualties that will occur on your hands?"

"I am," he said, "As a commander of the ANBU, casualties are not something to be desired but not something to fear,"

"Bullshit.." a voice called from the back.

"ANBU Elite Shirotora, you speak out of turn," the commander said in annoyance, "What complaint could you possibly have?"

"Sir, you can't charge them into that situation," Commander Shirotora said anxiously, "There will be an extremely large number of our soldiers who will perish on the way up there, not to mention the actual fighting in close range!"

"So what do you suggest?" he asked, "There is only so much we can do,"

"Sir, remember what they told you in tactical school?" she said, "There are always options, if you can't see them, that is nothing more than personal error,"

"So what do you suggest?"

"Sir," Commander Shirotora said softly, "Call a retreat,"

"What?"

"Elite Shirotora!"

"What are you talking about?"

"And just leave the Hokage?"

"Silence!" the new ANBU Commander roared deafeningly. The room quickly stopped moving, every ANBU ninja becoming immediately silent. "What is the meaning of this?" the Commander roared again, "Are we just to ignore our primary reason for existence?"

"Sir, respectfully," Commander Shirotora replied back, "Our primary reason for existence is not to die,"

"You know as well as I do that the ANBU was created for the express purpose of defending the Hokage!" the Commander yelled.

"We cannot lose so many people!" she replied, "If we continue on this path, we will only cause out own downfall out of sheer stubbornness," Mika took a deep breath, her eyes downcast, "I wish there was a different solution... but there is not,"

"And after we retreat?" an enraged ANBU Captain yelled, "What then?"

"Then we may continue fighting them in a location that they have not already secured," she replied, "Either that or we may engage in guerrilla activities. They can't live in the Hokage Tower forever, they will run out of supplies eventually,"

"We will carry out the charge," the Commander said, "Your tactical grounding is sound Commander Shirotora, however, your loyalty to Konoha is lacking," Mika sighed and looked down; how could she explain to the men and women around her that the men on the ground doing the bulk of the fighting were not just disposable pawns? How could she stress that even the ones who are not officers or of high rank are special and to be treasured, that, as those men were the fighting spirit of Konoha, such an order was the death of Konoha itself? "Give the order," the Commander said.

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Eagle Four gasped as a bullet slashed through her leg. She struck the ground soundly, the wounded leg giving out immediately. She attempted to stand up again but found she couldn't, she simply didn't have the strength. There was a strangled scream above her, a fellow ANBU ninja tumbling down onto her. She tried to push her dead comrade's body away but couldn't, the dead weight of the body pressing down upon her, she was trapped, at least for the moment.

Eagle Five punched the ground before her, the broken fragments of earth flying upwards and creating a momentary smokescreen. She quickly ran out and pulled an injured ANBU behind cover, the gasping ANBU smiling at her in acknowledgment.

Eagle One ducked behind a wall, several bullets ricocheting off of it. He quickly scooped up the unconscious Eagle Seven A and slipped back into cover, setting a small flare near him so the medical ninja could identify the casualty and care for him. Eagle Seven B tugged at his pants and Eagle One looked down. Eagle Seven B quickly pulled a dagger out of his parner's harness and presented it to Eagle One. It was obvious what the gesture meant, 'Get those who are responsible for hurting my partner for me,' Eagle One smiled and nodded, taking the dagger, exiting the building and running back into the battle.

HAKKE!" a voice called out. "ROKUJO YONSHO!" Dog One quickly spun low, deflecting several bullets with a small burst of chakra. He then stood, the white of his Byakugan easily visible from the blood splattered on his white ANBU mask. He ran forward, a flurry of blows and chakra, bullets pinging away harmlessly. He threw his arm up, deflecting another bullet and quickly lifted up the small girl that had fallen, "Eagle Four," he said softly, "What are you doing down there? You'll get hurt,"

"N.. Nothing N.. Niisan," Eagle Four said, "Thank you,"

"Can you move?"

"I.. I don't know.."

Dog One quickly and safely deposited her behind a building, "Stay here," he said, "Don't get hurt,"

"B.. But Niisan.." Eagle Four started, "Why.."

"Eagle Six would want it," Dog One said, "Now I have fulfilled my own interests, as your cousin, and repaid my debt to Eagle Six..."

Eagle Four pulled off her mask and looked at him, obviously troubled, "P.. Please be s.. safe Niisan.." Hinata said softly.

Dog One grinned ironically, "Are you going to ask me to watch over Eagle Six for you?"

"No," Hinata said confidently, "He can manage on his own,"

"Oh?"

"Yes," Hinata said, her eyes shining brilliantly, "He can't die yet; he hasn't become Hokage," Dog One chuckled and walked away. "I truly believe it.." Hinata whispered.

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Author's Notes: I'm not dead, nor is this fic dead, sorry for those who may have thought it was. I was going to upload something about it before November but I couldn't get the chapter out in time. Well, for the last month I was trying out my hand at Original Fiction in the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) contest and I can honestly say, I failed miserably! However, now that the month is over, I can get back to this, once again I'm going to be trying to upload this every week or every other week if possible.

Hope you likes!

Review!


	16. chapter fifteen

Eagle One

Chapter Fifteen:

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! Believe it! Or don't. Really, it's up to you.  
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"Captain!" Eagle Two yelled weakly, "Captain!" She stumbled forward, her eyes watering, her vision too blurred to distinguish anything other than the black robes of the ANBU, the hard brown of the ground, and the violent crimson of the blood that had been shed. "Sir?" She wanted to make sure he was still alive; if he was not, she knew the rest of the squad would most likely be quick to follow.

Eagle Five crouched behind a low wall, bullets and shrapnel making distinctive pinging sounds as they struck. Several other ANBU soldiers crouched near her, all of them suffering from both external injuries, and dull shock to some degree. She took a deep breath and heard the mask rattle as she exhaled.

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"Who are you when you don the mask?" Top-sensei roared, "Do any of you morons know?" several blank stares met his question, no one even daring to venture forth a guess in fear of being wrong. "When you don the mask," he started, "You disassociate from yourself, your world, your ethics, your pain, and your love.. you bring yourself to your basest and most primal instincts. You must learn to do this... to harness the part of you that lusts after the destruction of your enemies... because as ANBU, you are the best, and no one can or will save you. You must be your own savior." Top sighed, a subconscious reaction, as the memories of all the years he had served drifted back. "So," he said softly, his eyes snapping back into focus, "While in combat, trust only two things: your training, and your squad. Everything else is unnecessary."

"Sir.." Naruto said softly, raising his hand awkwardly as if he was in the Academy, "If we reduce ourselves that much, how are we any better than the people we're going to be fighting?"

"Better?" Top chuckled, shaking his head, "At the end of the battle, the ones who are still alive, are the ones who are better,"

"I don't see how that could possibly be.." another recruit said.

Top smiled, but the smile looked more like a grimace, as if something heavy was burdening his heart and stabbing at him. "You will."

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"Hey!" a voice called, "Hey! Over here! Medic!"

Eagle Five looked up, pushing her mask back onto her face quickly, sweat dripping from her chin, "Bring him over here!" she yelled back. The ANBU soldier nodded and quickly picked up his squadmate, dragging him behind the wall. "What happened?" she asked, more as a formality from her days working in the hospital rather than in actual curiosity.

"I'm not a trained medic or anything... but I'm going to go on and assume that it has something to do with this?" the ANBU soldier said sarcastically, pointing at a gaping hole in the side of the injured soldier's chest. It was deep and jagged, the chance of it becoming infected was extremely high.

"He's gone," Eagle Five said wearily, her body too numb to feel too much from it.

"Goddammit, no!" the ANBU replied loudly, "He can't be! Check him again!" Eagle Five frowned in annoyance and prepared a sharp rebuke when she caught his eyes. They were shimmering brightly with unshed tears that sharply contrasted with his tough and sarcastic exterior. Worse, however, was the hope she saw in the eyes, hope that she would have to dash. "Please.." he said softly, "We went through Boot together..."

Eagle Five took a deep breath and shook her head, her hand slowly moving over the gash in the wounded soldier's side. "He won't.."

"I've been wounded worse before!" the ANBU soldier blurted out suddenly and desperately, his tough exterior suddenly disintegrating, "I've been wounded a hell of a lot worse before! He's a better soldier than I could ever be! He has to be fine!"

Eagle Five sighed, her own eyes tearing. How many tears had she shed during the battle for people she didn't even know? She couldn't even count them. It was all the same. Soldiers, even on their own deathbeds, will lie to themselves, not for their own lives as would be expected, but for the lives of those around them. They truly wanted to believe that, though they themselves were expendable, their friends, their comrades, would never die. "He's not going to make it," she said again, firmly, "I'm sorry,"

The ANBU soldier dropped his head, his tired eyes finally shedding all of the tears that had been welling up in them. "I see.." he replied, "Thank you." the soldier knelt, silently pressing his masked forehead to that of his friend for several seconds. The moment was over then, the ANBU soldier drawing several shuriken. He then nodded to her respectfully and leapt away, back into the carnage.

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Tsunade rolled to the left, Danzou's sword slashing through her right shoulder. It was a lucky dodge, more instinct on her part than conscious effort. She frowned; she could feel herself flagging slowly, all of her years beginning to show. Another slash split the air and she dodged it again, the margin closing even further each time. She gathered some chakra to her left hand and slammed it into the wall, causing a enormous chunk of wall to fall forward; she then used her right hand and the chakra gathered there to slam it into her enemy.

Danzou frowned and lifted his sword to no avail. The large chunk of rock hit him and knocked him backwards. He quickly stood back up and reassumed his fighting pose, either ignoring or failing to notice the blood pouring from the deep gash over his left eye. Danzou's face momentarily lapsed, as though in thought. He smiled wryly and dropped his sword, reaching in his cloak and bringing out the small, wooden device again.

"A western weapon?" Tsunade said incredulously. Admittedly, she didn't know anything about western weapons, but she assumed they worked on the same principles their own weapons worked on, at least to a degree, "You're stupid, Danzou!" she exclaimed, "Something that small can't possibly do enough damage to hurt me!" There was a clicking sound as Danzou cocked the hammer. Tsunade frowned and lifted her arm to block the attack, preparing to leap when it discharged. A surprised groan barely escaped her lips as she slumped from the wound in her chest, her hands reaching desperately for the Genesis Seal on her forehead.

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Eagle One threw Kiba's dagger at the nearest Ne operative, the dagger scything through his neck and killing him. "Die so others may live!" he roared, the ANBU motto seeming a little more hollow and a little more empty as his brothers and sisters fell all around him. He glanced around, unable to see a single Eagle Squad member around him. It filled him with terror. He was unsure whether they had just been separated or they had been killed. He begged it wasn't the latter. He slid back behind a wall comically as another stream of bullets tore the ground where he had been standing into dust. He frowned under his mask as his eyes met a sad sight. A small ANBU soldier was huddled on the ground behind the wall, rocking back and forth, his eyes darting around as if they were flies hovering around day-old meat. "Recruit?" Eagle One said kindly, "Are you injured?"

The recruit shook his head and continued to cry silently, his will completely broken, "I wasn't ready.." he said, "Eagle Six told me I wasn't. He was right..."

"Eagle Six?" Eagle One said, his eyes practically oozing shock, "Where is he now?"

"He.. he went to disable the cannon, sir," the recruit said.

Eagle One's eyes, if possible, grew even wider and he quickly glanced over his left shoulder and over the wall. There, a solitary figure ran toward the tower that housed the cannon. It was Eagle Six, true, but it wasn't Naruto. Apparently, the gun crews defending the tower either believed Eagle Six was one of their own, or that he was simply driven insane by the battle and suicidal, because he somehow managed to make it within striking distance of the tower. "GENMA!" Eagle One yelled, his face under his mask draining of color.

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Shizune ran as fast and hard as she could. She had to get back to the battle and see if Squad Eagle, the people whom she could consider her only real family, were okay. She promised herself she'd find each member of the Eagle Squad and heal them personally. She promised herself that if any member of Eagle had gotten killed, she'd personally drag them back to life. She promised herself she would personally kill each and every Ne, if necessary, to get to Tsunade-sama who was more dear to her than a mother. She promised herself..

The sight that greeted her when she reached the top of the cliff overlooking the battlefield drove away any and all thoughts she had. All she could register was the familiar, small shape charging up to the cannon battery's tower. An eerie silence fell over both the ANBU and Ne as both turned to watch the apparently insane ninja charge the tower, the Ne ceasing all rifle fire and the ANBU ceasing movement. Small puffs of dirt floated around his feet as bullets impacted around him.

"GENMA!" a voice yelled hysterically. Shizune immediately registered it as belonging to Lee, taking relief, if only momentarily, in the knowledge that he was still alive.

The retired Eagle Six just smiled wryly and pressed forward, his legs screaming in pain as the bursts of chakra he was applying made them move faster then they could stand. The retired Eagle Six, Shiranui Genma, ignored the pain – it didn't matter. Either way, the pain would stop in a few seconds. He pressed himself harder, his body breaking down from the strain.

Shizune let out a strangled cry as the cannon commander ordered the cannon to be turned toward the charging ANBU. Genma – it was inappropriate to think of him with such a distant name as 'the retired Eagle Six' at a time like this – struggled forward, a bullet striking his leg but ricocheting off as if he were made of rock. Shizune gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in horror; Genma was reinforcing his body with chakra, forming a sort-of armor that would allow him to keep moving for a little longer. Reinforcing a human's body with chakra was a highly controversial technique, hard to accomplish at all and harder to control completely, because of the chakra's tendency to break down and destroy the internal organs of the body it was used on. It was sheer madness; the technique had originally been designed to reinforce the bodies of recently deceased ANBU squadmates in order to use them as traps or decoys. Using it on his own living tissue was nothing short of suicide.

Genma ripped his mask off, quickly inserting his trademark senbon in his mouth. Forming several seals, he disappeared in a puff of smoke, the disoriented-looking cannon commander appearing in his place; several bullets meant for the ANBU soldier struck him and he slumped to the ground, killed by his own allies. In the corresponding cloud of smoke, Genma reappeared, several feet from the front of the cannon. The Ne operative stationed at the barrel of the cannon reacted quickly, kicking the cannon to realign it with Genma's new location, "FIRE!" the Ne yelled, "FIRE NOW!"

"Check!" the Ne operative at the firing position yelled, his hand a blur as he yanked the pull-cord that fired the cannon. Genma took a deep breath. Time, it seemed, stood still. He calculated the distance carefully, and spat the senbon in his mouth at the lynch-pin on the cannon. The pin was the only part of the cannon that was worth targeting; it couldn't be replaced, and without it, the cannon was nothing more than a large, unwieldy, and completely useless lump of metal. He had trained himself to spit the senbon with absolute pinpoint accuracy, more out of boredom than for actual use, but it worked in his favor now. The muscles in his arms had been eaten away almost entirely by the chakra he was using to reinforce his body and he wouldn't have been able to LIFT a kunai, let alone throw one. The senbon struck true, shearing away the lynch-pin mere seconds after it impacted with the charge already in the barrel of the cannon. Genma smiled.

The multiple tiny projectiles the cannon spat at him burrowed into his body, the chakra reflecting some but the vast majority passing through; even pure chakra had its limits. The chakra reinforcement kept him alive though, his death guaranteed the moment his chakra ran dry. Genma shook gently. He was cold. The Ne operatives that had manned the cannon all turned toward him, their eyes filled with astonishment and maybe even a grudging respect. The Ne operative who had kicked the cannon slowly drew his sidearm pistol, pointing it at the obviously dying ninja's head.

Shizune let loose a fearsome barrage of needles. She usually refrained from hitting enemies anywhere but the chest – she felt it was too cruel to hit anyone, even an enemy in the head or neck, but today was not 'usual' in any way. She aimed for the head, the eyes, the neck, anything that would kill the bastards. The poisoned needles all impacted, most of the Ne operatives dying without even fully grasping what had happened. The remaining Ne operatives around the cannon were cut down by Eagle One, his kunai flashing in the air and spilling blood left and right.

Both Eagle One and Shizune had run toward Genma in the silence. Eagle One, his dedication to Genma as a squadmember, a sort-of-advisor in the ANBU, a close personal friend, and a member of their ANBU family driving him forward in the shocked silence that fell over the battlefield. He was fueled through pure loyalty.

Shizune had a different reason. Ever since she was a child, she had been with the Sannin, Tsunade. She was Dan's younger sister. Dan was Tsunade's lover before she left Konoha; Shizune had been taken by Tsunade as a personal favor to him after his death. She had heard Tsunade cry over her love's premature death and she had, at a young age, decided to ignore the feeling of love. It seemed too painful to lose the one you loved, and the joy seemed too transient. It didn't seem worth it, to bare your heart and soul and hope the one you handed it to would not drive a dagger through it, either accidentally or not. She had fared rather well with this personal philosophy. She did develop a few crushes over the years but they were easily enough ignored with enough willpower. She then joined the ANBU and entered Eagle Squad as the squad's qualified medical ninja. She knew Genma before, having worked with him on various missions in their tokubetsu jounin cell, but never realized then, that there was more to his tough persona. In Eagle Squad, she began to learn about him, peering into his psyche and realizing that he really wasn't as shallow as he pretended to be. As the more senior members of the almost all-rookie Eagle Squad, she and Genma had constantly been in contact, training the rookies, advising them, and generally making sure the rookies understood what the ANBU stood for. She loved his sense of humor and quirky attitude. The first time she felt an overwhelming surge of love for her squadmate, she immediately gave herself a self-diagnosis and convinced herself she was ill. The second time, she did the same. The third time, however, she simply couldn't ignore it any more. She had always told herself – being a medical specialist – that love, as powerful as it was, was a simple emotion, just electrical signals in the brain and no more. She always believed she could defeat it with enough willpower. She was horribly, horribly wrong.

Eventually she came face-to-face with the fact. She berated herself enormously for falling in love with a squadmate and endangering the cohesion of the squad for her own selfish reasons. She ordered herself as an ANBU-nin to ignore her own personal feelings for the betterment of the squad. She cursed her weakness and lack of willpower. She struggled with it and nearly lost several times. She was still struggling with it.

When she saw Genma run forward, almost suicidally; she found she no longer saw love as a transient emotion that weaker people allowed to control their actions. She had started running toward him, beginning to run before even Eagle One, himself, snapped out of his reverie. She saw him run. She saw him remove his mask.

And she saw him fall.

"Genma-kun!" Shizune yelled, sliding next to him and checking his wounds. They were horrible. Western weapons were truly horrifying; they were specially made to bludgeon, gouge, and rip so there'd be nothing but pulp to heal. Healing was not magic; she couldn't reassemble something that simply wasn't there. Death was part of a medic-nin's job; they faced it and tried to subvert it every single day. Sometimes they were successful, sometimes they were not. The very first thing a medic-nin learned was not to have a personal attachment to any patient. Even if they were your brother or sister outside of the hospital, on the operating table, they were strangers. This helps the medical personnel stay objective and keep their calm. Shizune was currently about four-hundred steps away from calm.

"Is there anything you can do?" Eagle One asked urgently, his eyes trembling at the extensive wounds that were visible on Genma's body. "Anything at all?" Eagle One's eyes were hopeful, almost pleading for there to be some loophole in human physiology that would allow Genma to live.

Shizune hated that look. That DAMN look that every single relative or friend of the patient had. The look that portrayed the smallest, most fragile hope that their friend or loved one would be okay in the end. Was there anything she could do? She could do whatever she damn well pleased. Was there anything she could do that would help? No, nothing. The world swam before her eyes and she blinked several times before noticing that she was crying bitterly. "Hey Captain... Shizune-chan..." Genma whispered. His eyes were unfocused but he still managed to smile at them both, bravely, "Cheer up... it looks like someone died over here..."

Shizune couldn't help but chuckle. Even in his final hours, Genma utterly failed to be serious. It was a little funny in a sad way. "I see you finally found a use for that stupid toothpick..." she said softly, both of them joking as if they were in Hirogohan's eating lunch or in the ANBU deployment room simply relaxing after a mission.

Eagle One frowned and leapt forward, knocking Shizune down to safety. The Ne had resumed firing. "Help me get Genma behind the tower!" Eagle One yelled, grabbing one of Genma's limp arms. Shizune nodded and grabbed the other; together, they somehow managed to get him behind cover and out of harm's way.

"Take care of Eagle," Genma muttered seriously, "Or I'll really kick your ass, thickbrow."

"Of course."

Genma shuddered again. His chakra was almost gone. There was one last thing he absolutely had to say. "Shizune-chan?" Genma whispered. Shizune jumped as if she had been absorbed in her own thoughts. "I'm sorry if this offends you," he said hesitatingly, "I didn't want to tell you before because I was afraid of what it would do to the squad... but now it really doesn't matter." Genma took a deep breath, "I love you. I have for a long time," he smiled in that odd way that made her heart light up every time she saw it, "I always wanted you to love me back but I guess I failed..."

Shizune closed her eyes in pain as she heard the first part of his confession and then reopened them when he finished, her eyes blood-red, "I love you too, Genma," she said, searching her mind for the correct words to express herself, "I didn't realize..."

Eagle One looked away, "Shizune-chan.." he said softly, his voice trembling, every fiber of his soul protesting what he knew he had to say, "Please look at Genma more closely.."

Shizune frowned and peered at her love's injured body. Her breath caught in her throat. He'd run out of chakra just as he'd finished his confession, dying just as Shizune reopened her eyes. He had never heard her. He was the first Eagle Squad member, current or former, to die.

He died believing his love was unrequited.

_**Shiranui Genma – ANBU Squad Fifteen (RET. // RETIRED) – Designation: Eagle Six/ Demolitions Specialist/ ANBU Lev1: KIA – Age: Thirty-Six**_

"Shizune-chan..." Eagle One said, "Please retreat and head to a safe location," His voice sounded tired and weak but he still stood strong, "I must return to the battle." She nodded and backed away, quickly dodging and weaving through the ranks of the ANBU running in the opposite direction. Her running grew slower and slower and eventually stopped when she reached the stronghold where the rookie ANBU, who were yet to be assigned to a squad, had gathered up all those who lived near the battlefield for their own safety. She nodded to the sentry on-duty, leaned against a tree, and collapsed.

Eagle Two slumped behind the wall, pressing her back to it. She had hoped to never see a squadmate die in combat, or even die period, in her life. She refused to cry. She was the noncom and second-captain for the squad; she needed to be an example. She refused to cry, ordered herself not to, and even shut her eyes as tightly as she could to stop them, but the tears came anyway.

The ANBU ninja were now slowly but surely advancing on the Hokage's building. The cannon had pinned them down in the low ground in front of the tower and now it was silent; the surviving ANBU soldiers, as few as they were, charged forward again, screaming for the blood of their enemies. The ANBU rushed forward, their charge resembling an enormous writhing spear more than an actual group of living human beings. It was simply frightening to behold.

Unfortunately, the Ne wasn't so easily intimidated. They fought back, firing until several portions of the defensive line reported that they were low on or completely out of ammunition. The bulk of the fire, however, was too powerful. The ANBU simply had taken too many casualties. The battlefield which once writhed with fighting ANBU soldiers lay, for the most part, still. The spear of attack pressed forward, but it hesitated now, and then it then literally shattered, ANBU soldiers breaking apart in a panic and once again trying to establish their own initiative. Though it wasn't apparent from their positions in the battle, the ANBU had lost most of the will to fight. Most squads had lost too many ranked personnel to function, lower-ranked ninja, that simply were not ready for the mantle of command, finding themselves as squad leaders or seconds.

Eagle Six stumbled, a deep gash on his chest leaking blood at a dangerous rate, "Eagle Five!" he yelled, his mind spinning and his thoughts disjointed from the blood-loss. He quickly focused more chakra and created three Kage Bushins. The Bushins disappeared almost instantly, the three of them absorbing the bullets that were heading toward the actual Eagle Six. He collapsed, curling into a ball and shivering.

"Oh no, you're not allowed to die just yet."

Eagle Six staggered to his feet again, his pupils beginning to narrow. He could feel his self-control waning, a slow euphoria creeping over him as his power expanded almost three-fold. He grinned.

Eagle Two rushed forward, clearing the open ground between her position and Eagle One's. "Captain!" she yelled hoarsely, "Eagle Six! Sir!"

Eagle One turned. His mind was slowing down and he was becoming indecisive, the lethargia of battle affecting him in every way. He didn't know what to do. A voice in his mind screamed at him to do something. To act. To do something, no matter what it was. If the Kyuubi came loose, there'd be a larger chance that it would attack the ANBU soldiers surrounding it than the Ne operatives in the tower. Either way, it would be a bloodbath. "Eagle Six!" he yelled desperately, "Stop!"

Eagle Six stirred and his training kicked in. Even in the throes of the Kyuubi's venomous chakra, he found some part in him that was still rational. "Sir?" he called with difficulty.

"Eagle Six!" Eagle One yelled, "You need to..." the ANBU captain's words were cut off as his eyes drifted to the front of the tower. The clacking of rifles stopped. The shouting of men stopped. Even the gasping breaths of the wounded seemed to stop. Suddenly, everything was utterly silent.

It was Danzou.

He looked dangerous, his eyes filled with bloodlust, practically exuding hatred, "ANBU scum!" he yelled, kicking something off the top of the tower, "See what you died so foolishly to protect!" The large shape fell from the tower, twisting slightly as it fell. Godaime Hokage.

"It can't be..." Eagle Two screamed, horrified, "It can't!"

"Damn..." Eagle One muttered – looking away, unable to believe what he had seen. Danzou chuckled softly, the Ne units suddenly exploding into animalistic screams of victory. That was it. The will of the ANBU soldiers broke. There was a flurry of motion, this time in the opposite direction, almost every single ANBU soldier deserting the battle as fast as they could.

Eagle Six closed his eyes, the shock of what had happened drowning out even the Kyuubi. Logical thought abandoned him, and he fled.

Eagle Two swallowed hard, her eyes filled with guilt and shame as she turned to Eagle One, "Sir?" she said softly, as if asking him for approval. Eagle One didn't say anything. There was nothing to say. He nodded.

"Squad Eagle... disengage." he said, as if it was needed to be said.

They ran.

Every single ANBU that could move disengaged from the battle. The Ne didn't stop them. They didn't have to. The Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokusho Butai, formerly the most feared group of ninja in the world, fled from the scene of their greatest disgrace.

Danzou was now the Hokage.

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The Commander, Morino Ibiki, closed his eyes. Every commander in the room was silent. Ibiki drew a kunai, pressing it to his neck. No one stopped him. The other commanders looked away. There was a slashing sound, gurgling, and a thud. "Dismissed..." the next highest ranked officer whispered, his voice dead and hopeless.

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"That is the current situation..." Lee said softly, his eyes roaming from one squad-member to another, "The Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokusho Butai has been declared a subversive and treasonous group by Danzou..."

"Ninety-four..." Tenten said softly, interrupting her captain, "I still can't believe there were ninety-four percent casualties..." The usually stoic girl suddenly closed her eyes, "And we lost the Hokage..."

"I... I can't believe it..." Temari said bitterly, "That bastard, Danzou, won..."

"Yeah..." Kiba spat, "He won... he won, and now we're all criminals..."

"Most of the villagers probably won't enforce it..." Sakura said, feigning optimism. "They know that Danzou isn't a true Hokage..."

"What do we do next, Lee?" Temari asked, "What should be our objective?"

Lee hung his head, his tired eyes looking absolutely dejected, "I... I have no idea..." he admitted.

A sudden chuckle broke the new silence in the room, Hinata sadly burying her face in her hands, "I was useless again..." she whispered, "I was needed... and I was useless again..." Quiet sobs rose in her throat and she looked away.

The entire squad looked absolutely devastated. They all stared at the ground, each silently blaming themselves for the squad's failure. "We lost..." Tenten said hopelessly, reiterating the thought that was flitting across each of their minds. "We failed Konoha..."

"We did our best..." Lee said, his voice hollow, "We did all we could..."

"And we still lost..." Kiba said sarcastically, "Whee-hee! What a swell job..."

"Well, don't lift the mood too damn much," Naruto snapped. A small squabble ensued, much yelling issuing from both ninja.

"Temari-chan," Lee interrupted, "Will your brother send us help?"

"He may... it really depends on whether or not the village is willing to follow his orders though..." Temari admitted, "The Kagekage is more of a figurehead than anything... the real power lies in the village majority..."

Hinata activated her Byakugan, sweeping the surroundings periodically to ensure that no Ne operatives would accidentally stumble on their hiding spot. When she swept around the Hokage's tower, she gasped quietly. The Ne operatives were burning the corpses of the dead ANBU soldiers with Katon jutsu then unceremoniously dumping anything that wouldn't burn in a large ditch. Hinata felt sick knowing that some of the burning were not entirely dead, they still had faint chakra signatures, the Ne operatives burning them regardless. She winced as if she had been stabbed with a dagger when a Ne operative burnt Genma's body, but no one noticed in the dark of the alley they were hiding in. Hinata deactivated her Byakugan, feeling sick, but didn't mention it to the rest of the squad. They had enough troubles already; she would bear this one alone.

"Wait!" a voice called, "ANBU!" The members of what was once Eagle Squad jerked up, their eyes flitting around in search of Ne operatives. What they found, was a large crowd of villagers converging on their position.

Lee frowned and held up his hands, palms down, a symbol of peace, "Please, do not inform the Ne of our position..." he said passively, "We mean you no harm..."

A middle-aged woman strode out from the crowd, her eyes alight. "You bastards!" she screamed, slapping Lee with all of the strength she could muster, "Give me back my son!"

Lee looked surprised, his hand reaching up to the very slightly red mark, "W.. What?" he stuttered.

"My son!" the woman yelled, "He was a genin! He JUST graduated the Academy!" the woman continued to strike Lee, the repeated blows not doing any real physical damage, "He was killed by the Ne! Why didn't you protect him?"

Lee's eyes widened and he looked away sadly, "I... I apologize..." he said, "We..."

"You were supposed to protect us!" another voice from the crowd yelled, "It was your duty to protect us, and when the Ne fired indiscriminately, WHERE WERE YOU?" the crowd moved forward, pressing the entire ex-ANBU squad into the far wall of the alley.

"My wife!" someone else yelled, "She died trying to fend off the Ne! Not an ANBU soldier to be seen!"

"My store was destroyed by the Ne! I have no job! It's all your damn fault!"

"My two sons! Genin! Ne operatives attacked us and they told me to run! They said they'd hold them off until the ANBU special forces got there! The ANBU never came!"

"GIVE ME BACK MY SON!" another voice yelled, "WHY DID HE HAVE TO DIE? YOU BASTARDS SHOULD BE THE ONES WHO ARE DEAD!"

"It's not our fault!" Tenten cried desperately, her eyes filling with tears. "We would have saved them if we could!"

"It wasn't your fault?" one of the villagers repeated in a mocking voice, "Then whose fault was it?"

"Damn it! Blame the Ne! They're the ones who killed them!" Kiba yelled hoarsely.

"It was your JOB and DUTY to protect both the common villager as well as the Hokage!" another voice chimed in, "Apparently, you failed to do both!"

"Is the ANBU too high and mighty to do their damn jobs?"

"It's not their damn fault!" Temari yelled.

"The Hokage's dead! Our children are dead! Our wives and husbands are dead! BECAUSE OF YOU!" someone else roared, "Maybe if you were more competent you'd have stood a chance!"

"We did all we could!" Hinata yelled, her tears running freely now, "We gave it everything we had!"

"SO WHAT?" a villager yelled, stepping up to the pale Hyuuga girl and roaring into her face, "SO WHAT? WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SHOW FOR IT?"

"Leave her alone!" Naruto yelled, pushing the villager away from Hinata. The Hyuuga girl was trembling, tears streaming down her face like a faucet.

"Oh!" a woman yelled, "They have no fear in fighting us!" she pushed Naruto, the blond-haired ninja not even budging an inch, "Why couldn't you fight the Ne with such fervor, you coward?"

"WE LOST NINETY-FOUR PERCENT OF OUR MEN!" Kiba roared, "WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM US?"

"THEN LOSE THE OTHER GODDAMNED SIX!"

Kiba's face turned red, tears of both helplessness and anger welling in his eyes, "They died for you! They died believing that they were fighting for you!"

"But they DIDN'T fight for us!" the first speaker shot back, "If they fought for us, our families wouldn't have been separated and killed! Do you know what it's like to lose a family member?"

"Yes!" Tenten roared, "Because we lost six-hundred and ninety-three of ours!"

The mob was becoming dangerous, the villagers working themselves into a frenzy, "Live a life of failure and die with failure! That's the ANBU way, isn't it?" the woman who had slapped Lee screamed, "Then make stupid excuses?"

"How the hell would you know?" Sakura screamed, "You weren't there! You weren't fighting and dying with us! Shut up!"

"Why can't you understand?" Hinata sobbed brokenly, "We did everything we could! We ran into wholesale slaughter! We lost a squadmate!"

"You lost a squadmate? Well that forgives everything, now, doesn't it?" someone shot back sarcastically. The crowd drew closer, their eyes practically shining with hate.

A large villager pushed to the front and punched Kiba squarely in the chest. Kiba growled in anger and clenched his hand into a fist, raising it. "Stop, Kiba!" Tenten yelled, "Don't fight back!"

"No!" Kiba yelled, "Genma died for these ungrateful bastards! They don't even appreciate his sacrifice!"

"We're ungrateful?" another villager spat as he strode to the front of the mob, "What do we have to be grateful for? Should we be grateful because he died in a meaningless gesture that didn't even do us any good?"

"H.. He died because he b.. believed in helping you!" Hinata yelled shrilly, her voice rising rather uncharacteristically.

"Well, thank you, Genma-kun!" a villager yelled, "Thanks for doing nothing! Way to die like a pig!"

A kunai hovered dangerously near the villager's neck in the blink of an eye, "Don't you dare insult Genma!" Tenten roared, her buns unraveling slowly.

"Go ahead! Kill me!" the villager yelled in contempt, "I promise I'll put up less fight then the Ne! Then you can kill me like the coward-scum you are!"

Tenten trembled and sheathed the kunai. The ex-ANBU squad was being torn apart, the combined physical injuries they had sustained, the losses they had received, and the verbal abuse of those they had fought for. It was simply destroying them psychologically. Each squad member, by this point, had already had their composure shattered, each lapsing into frenzied tears if they hadn't already been at that state, their guilt and shame peaking drastically. The crowd continued to scream at them and curse them darkly. Lee hung his head, tears dripping uncontrollably from his face. He understood that the villagers were acting out of their grief and the pain of their loss, but it hurt nonetheless. "Aren't you even sorry?" another villager yelled, "Of course not! Why the hell would you be? We're not important enough to catch the attention of the elite ANBU!"

Kiba looked as if he wanted to make a remark, but Lee stopped him. "As an ex-Captain of the Konoha Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokusho Butai," he said, "I would like to offer my most sincere apologies for everything..." he bowed respectfully, his eyes downcast, "If there was any way I could possibly reverse what had happened... I would."

"Well isn't that nice?" a sarcastic villager said, "We lost loved ones but he apologized so I guess it's okay, huh?"

Before any of the ex-ANBU could reply, a lean figure pushed through the crowd, slamming tenketsu shut on several of the villagers and causing them to fall unconscious, "Come with me," Neji said softly, "I'm tired of listening to their shit."

"You're one of them too, aren't you?" a villager yelled, "An ANBU pig?" Neji simply tapped a tenketsu on the villager's forehead and knocked him out, not even glancing in his direction.

"Neji... what are you..." Lee stammered, his eyes widening, "You cannot attack..."

"We did all we could..." Neji said softly, "Every sacrifice we could have possibly made, we have, and have in abundance. If they can't understand that, then there is no need for us to seek their approval..." he beckoned, "Now follow me, you'll stay at the Hyuuga complex tonight, Hiashi-sama has approved it."

"But won't that endanger your family?" Kiba asked, "It would be better for us to hide out somewhere..."

"Danzou would never attack the Hyuuga," Neji said, "He needs their political influence if he's to secure his power as Hokage."

"Thank you, Niisan," Hinata said softly. She hadn't thought of asking her father herself; she hadn't really thought he would have approved.

The villagers still looked irritated but slowly separated, too late however, their damage had already been done. "Lee..." Neji said, not even looking back at the troubled-looking squad leader, "You're truly pathetic if you take anything they said to heart."

"Yeah..." Lee said softly. He looked tired, confused, and utterly devastated, as did most of the squad members.

Temari looked outraged. "Where do they get off saying shit like that?" she spat.

"They lost loved ones..." Lee replied half-heartedly.

"WE lost loved ones!" Temari snapped back, "Don't talk like they're justified in doing things like that because you feel guilty! Stand up for yourself!"

Tenten looked away and shook her head, "Sorry... I'm not going to the Hyuuga complex with you," she said.

"What? Why?" Kiba demanded.

Tenten just shrugged and sped off in the direction of her house. Hitomi was not even technically related to her, however, in the blood-frenzy the Ne, and seemingly most of the citizens, had fallen in, she may still be in danger.

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"All hail the Rokudaime Hokage! Hatake Kakashi!" the jounin behind the Copy-nin yelled, "The true Rokudaime!"

Kakashi frowned as everyone's attention turned to him, the crest of fire reflecting garishly off the sash he had received. The villagers that had refused to acknowledge Danzou stared, all of them hoping for some kind of reassuring comment or speech, some kind of sign that things would improve. For a hope, however fragile.

Kakashi held up a hand and grinned, "Yo."

Silence.

More silence.

The Rokudaime Hokage went back to reading his book.

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"Hitomi?" Tenten yelled, bursting into the house, "Hitomi-chan?"

"Onee-chan!" Hitomi yelled ecstatically, "You're back!"

"I always..." Tenten started, but was quickly cut off by her little sister leaping and clinging to her tightly. Tenten held her, burying her face in her sister's shoulder. She just stood there for several minutes, letting all of her grief and pain melt away, and then pulled her head away and smiled, "I'm glad you're safe," she said. "Let's head over to Neji-kun's house for tonight, okay?"

"Okay!" Hitomi said happily. They stepped outside and when Tenten was closing the door, Hitomi gasped, "Onee-chan! Aren't you taking your mask?"

Tenten stared at the white mask and the red streaks of blood. The obvious white purity of the mask being horribly tainted by the wretched crimson blood - the literal symbol of the ANBU - lying innocently on the table. "No. I don't want it anymore" she said softly, "It's seen too much blood that can never be washed away.."

Hitomi nodded, "Okay."

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"What?" Gaara said, his voice more concerned than most had ever heard it, "WHAT happened in Konoha?"

"An uprising, sir. The Konoha 'Ne' Branch of the ANBU has usurped the title of Hokage from the Godaime."

"I hope you understand, Kazekage-sama, why we are so concerned about this. Something like this has never happened before!"

"If we restore power to the Hokage appointed by the Godaime, Hatake Kakashi, it may lead to open war between the two sides of Konoha, also, that may pose a moment of weakness for Iwagakure and Kumogakure to attack us... I advise we stay neutral."

"Are there any reports on how Temari is doing?" Gaara asked urgently.

"No sir, the flow of information from Konoha has almost stopped entirely."

Gaara stood, his long Kazekage's cloak rustling, "I must go consider our position on this," he said, walking into his office and closing the door, "No one is to interrupt me unless it is with important information about Temari or Konoha. Understood?"

Kankurou chuckled and shook his head, "Gaara..." he said softly, "You care more for her than you let on."

"How so?" an elder asked.

"Didn't you notice that he named Temari first?"

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_"Every soldier is a hero in the eyes of the public, until they lose."_

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hey

this isn't the writer. i'm his cousin and i'm just posting this up here for him. he's having a hard time right now and i honestly don't know if this story is going to be finished or not. he's not really in any kind of mind to be writing anything at the moment but i'll post more up if he writes more. it seemed important for him for this last chapter to get up on the internet at least.


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